The Madness of Diaspro
by AndrewK9000
Summary: Stella and Brandon head to the world of The Ramblers for help on a personal matter Bloom caught Sky cheating on her. Or did he? Nothing is what it seems as two sets of heroes join up to stop a lunitic from destroying the true love between Bloom and Sky.
1. Chapter 1: Unbelievable Betrayal

Greetings fellow readers and writers! This is my 16th story, so I hope you like it. Once again we're in the world of Winx Club, but we're also visiting the world of my original characters, The Ramblers. This fic is the sequel to 'Magic and Martial Arts,' taking place a few weeks after the story ended. Please note that I don't own Winx Club, so don't sue me. On with the show!

**The Madness of Diaspro**

**By AndrewK9000**

Chapter 1: Unbelievable Betrayal

"Of all the depraved, irresponsible, dumb-assed things a man could do to the woman he loves," spat Brandon, "Sky had to go and do that!"

"I just can't believe Sky would do such a thing," said Flora, "I honestly believed he loved Bloom."

"We all did," said Riven, "I guess you really can't judge a book by it's cover."

Our favorite Fairies and Heroes were sitting at a café in downtown Magicx discussing the latest event to disrupt the relation between Bloom and Sky. Everyone except said persons and Stella.

"It just doesn't seem logical," said Tecna, "Why would Sky do such a thing?"

"I'll bet it was Darcy," said Musa, "This is just the sort of thing a witch would do. Darcy must have put a spell on Sky to make him do that."

"I disagree," said Tatewaki Kuno. He, a swordsman from Japan, Earth, and boyfriend of Layla, had settled in on Magicx to enhance his prowess with the sword. "I have kept mine ears open for word of the foul wench and her repulsive consort, Toro. There has been no sign of either of them since Salusa Secundus, so I sincerely doubt that witch had anything to do with this most unfortunate event."

"Unfortunate?" asked Layla, "Sky just did the worst thing he could possibly do to Bloom, and you call it unfortunate? I thought you had a much larger vocabulary."

"Indeed," said Tatewaki, "I believe a more appropriate word would be inopportune."

"That's much better," said Layla.

Just then Stella came over to our heroes set of tables. "How's Bloom?" asked Flora.

"She's still crying," said Stella as she sat down, her face heavy with worry, "But not as much as she was last night. I still can't believe Sky did that to her."

"Just wait until I next see that no-good bastard!" snapped Musa, "I'll wring his neck out!!"

"Where is the traitor anyway?" asked Riven.

"He went home to Eraklyon," said Brandon, "Just packed up and left."

"A sure sign of his guilt," said Tatewaki.

"Hey, Stella," said Flora, "I don't think it's wise to leave Bloom alone at this time, especially after what happened."

"I didn't leave her alone," said Stella, "You think I'm that dumb? Well I'm not. I left her with Carmen."

"Oh," said Flora, "That makes me feel better."

"Not me," said Musa, "I wouldn't leave Bloom alone with a witch."

"Miss Carmen would die before allowing any harm to occur to Miss Bloom," said Tatewaki, "Remember? She swore an oath."

Shortly after the defeat of The Shadow Riders, it was revealed that Bloom wasn't the last of Sparkx after all. At least a dozen adults and 100 children survived the cataclysmic climate spell that locked Sparkx into a cursed ice age. Among those children was Carmen Dawson, student body president at Cloud Tower. Upon learning of her heritage, Carmen swore loyalty to Bloom.

"I still don't believe what happened was what really happened," said Tecna, "Something is wrong with this situation."

"I'll tell you what's wrong with the situation," said Riven, "Sky hurt Bloom where she can be hurt the most: her heart."

"That's the thing," said Timmy, "I once overheard Sky say that he would give up his live before every hurting Bloom. I agree with Tecna, something is wrong with this situation."

"I also agree," said Elise Caplin as she and Morgan Rodgers sat down. Elise, Cloud Tower genius, and Morgan, Cloud Tower prankster, are Carmen's best friends. "This whole situation defies logic, even for Magicx."

"I think we should have both of them sit down and talk this over," said Flora, "I'm sure if Bloom and Sky would talk about what happened, it would all make sense and things would go back to normal."

"I don't think so," said Brandon, "I tried to speak to Sky about what happened, but he just blew me off as if I wasn't there."

"And when I tried to talk to Bloom about what happened," said Stella as she set her cup of coffee down on the table, "She cried harder." She picked up her drink again and took a sip. Immediately she grimaced in disgust and spat out the coffee. "Who put sour salt in my Triple Mocha Late!?!"

"My bad," said Morgan, barely able to stifle her giggles, "I couldn't resist."

"I still think there's more here than meets the eye," said Tecna, "There's a mystery on our hands."

"I know just who we can ask for help," said Stella, "'Cause this is one thing that we really need help on."

Meanwhile in a parallel dimension…

"You sure you're okay to get back to work?" asked Max Kildare.

"If we don't get back into the game," said Steve Austin, "Then we never will."

"You had to say _game_, didn't you, Steve?" asked Julie Eckheart. A few weeks ago Steve, Julie, along with Michael Long, Fay Valentine, Alec Parkman and Denise Yeager, participated in an experiment in the next generation of video games. Said experiment went horribly when an old enemy of Virgil Blake hacked into The Bureau computers and sabotaged the game, trapping the six players in a virtual world full of zombies.

The safety protocols for the game were disabled, so that if one of the players were killed in the game, they would die in the real world. Julie, Alec and Fay nearly died when their virtual characters were killed in the game. If it weren't for Aaron Spartan's medical savvy, they would have truly been dead.

Virgil then tracked down the sender of the virus and forced the rat traitor to debug the computer, freeing Steve, Denise and Michael before they could come to any further harm. Virgil then handed the hacker over to Homeland Security, for the hacker was also a terrorist who had connections to 9/11.

"How many times do we have to tell you, Max?" said Michael, "We're fine."

""Okay," said Max, "I voiced my concerns and you listened, but you're still going back to work. I respect your self confidence, but remember, you knew the job was dangerous when you took it."

"Since when have you been this negative, Max?" asked Andrew Carpenter. He and Jill, both recently newlyweds, were part of the original eight Ramblers, along with Max and Leon Smyth-Falcon.

"I don't know," said Max, "Maybe I'm just getting old."

"You're kidding!" said Steve, "You're like, what, 25 or something?"

"Almost 26," said Max, "I've been saving the world for going on 10 years now. Maybe I've had enough of the business. Perhaps I should hang up my guns and retire."

"And give up being one of the greatest heroes who ever lived?" asked Jill, "You don't need to retire, you need a vacation."

"Some hero I am," said Max, "Some heroes we are. We save the world from demons, zombie and other nastiest that go bump in the night, yet nearly everyone in the world is ignorant about it."

"I know what's wrong with you," said Laura Hurst, resident psychic, "You're suffering from lack of appreciation. Well you should know that we all appreciate what you have done."

Max was just about to retort when this weird humming filled the room, followed by this bright blue light ten feet off the ground. From the light fell four figures, two boys, two girls.

"Damn!" complained Riven, "I fell on my keys. I thought you knew how to cast portals, Stella!"

"I do," said Stella as she, Brandon, Musa and Riven stood up form their rough landing, "Anyway, we made it, I think. At least I think this is where Max and Jill are."

"Right in one!" exclaimed Jill, "What brings you crazy characters to our universe?"

Old friends greeted each other, while the new crew were introduced to the visitors. "And who is this hunk of eye candy?" Stella asked Jill.

"'Eye candy?" asked a concerned Brandon.

"'Eye candy!?!'" said Andrew.

"He's my husband," said Jill as she displayed her wedding ring, "And I'll thank you to keep your royal paws off him!"

"I just wanted to know who he is," said Stella innocently, "That's all."

"You still haven't answered Jill's question," said Max, "What brings you to our world?"

"We've got trouble back in our universe," said Riven, "Nothing like what happened with Voldemort, but something we could really use your help to settle."

"Sky cheated on Bloom," said Musa.

"Bull sh$t!" exclaimed Laura. The other Ramblers were in a state of shock, except for Michael, Julie and the new additions to the team, who needed to catch up with the news.

"When you mean he cheated on her," said Jill, "Did Sky go out with another girl? Or is it worse?"

"It's as worse as it can get," said Stella, "Sky did the worse possible thing that can be done to ruin a relationship."

"Let me guess," said Julie, "This Sky, he parked his car where it shouldn't be; in another girl's garage."

"And Bloom saw him doing it," said Musa, "It wasn't a pretty sight, from what Bloom told us, when she managed to stop crying for a few minutes."

"You mean Bloom caught Sky screwing another girl!?!" exclaimed Laura, "That two-timing man-whore!! I ought to rip his nuts off, so he can't contaminate the universe!!"

"I can't believe this," said Jill, "Those two seemed so much in love. Why would he do that? It doesn't make any sense."

"That's the thing," said Brandon, "It doesn't make any sense. I know Sky, and he would never do anything to hurt Bloom. He must have been influenced by outside forces."

"We think Darcy and her consort, Toro are behind it," said Stella, "In revenge for what happened to Icy and Stormy."

"If Darcy wanted revenge for her sisters," said Riven, "She'd go after the ones who killed them. Tatewaki killed Stormy, while Carmen blew up Icy. It doesn't make sense for Darcy to go after Bloom."

"Since when has anything a witch done make sense?" asked Musa.

"I take it you don't like witches," said Julie.

"Only the really evil and nasty ones," replied Musa, "Some of them are decent people."

"Back to why we're here," said Stella, "Jill, Max, we could really use your help in clearing this up. Bloom is my best friend; I can't stand to see her suffering like this. So, will you please help us?"

"What do you think?" Max asked Jill and Andrew.

"I say we help," said Andrew, I'm curious to see these kids' world."

"And this might just be the thing to get the spring back into your spirit, Max," said Jill.

That settled it. After securing permission from Director Walker, Max and his fellow Ramblers got ready to go back with Stella to Magicx. Those who were going were:

Max

Jill

Andrew

Steve

Michael

Aaron

Tyler

Fay

Julie

Virgil

Laura

Shawn

Violet

Denise

Alec

D.P. and Leon were on vacation, while Maria was AWAL again, so Max and the others would go on without them.

"As you can see," said Jill, "The team has grown a lot since we last met."

"I'll say," said Brandon.

"I think we're missing someone," said Shawn.

"He's right," said Alec, "We're one gun short."

"Why are you bringing guns?" asked Musa, "It's not like we're trying to save the universe or something."

"Standard procedure," said Fay, "Whenever Bureau agents go on any mission that involves travel to parallel realities, they go prepared for anything."

Fay then noticed that Stella, Musa, Riven and Brandon were starring at her. "What?" she asked, "You see something you like?"

"This is going to sound a bit strange," said Brandon, "But didn't you die or something?"

"He's right!" said Stella, "Back on Death Eater Island, you got hit by a killing curse. I was there, you died!"

"Of course I died," said Fay in a sarcastic tone, "I'm just taking my sweet time decomposing, that's all."

"Oh Fay was dead, alright," said Violet, "I should know, I carried her soul in my head for a few weeks."

"We made a clone of her body," said Aaron, "And inserted her soul into it."

"I'm still getting used to the new body," said Fay, "But everything works."

Just then Sally-Ann Carpenter came in. "Sorry I'm late," said Sally-Ann, "Traffic was terrible."

"Then you should have taken the back roads," said Julie.

Under normal circumstances Sally-Ann would have made a snappy retort, but today she was unusually quiet. "Let's just get this over with," she said.

"Okay," said Stella, "This seems a bit awkward, so let's just go!" With that she made a large portal and everyone went through to Magicx.

The end of chapter 1. Next chapter The Ramblers arrive at Alfea to help out Bloom, 'nuff said. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. I mean, who doesn't love cake and pie? See you next time!


	2. Chapter 2: TearStained Reunion

Last time Stella, along with Brandon, Riven and Musa, traveled to the headquarters of The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. There they met up with Max Kildare and The Ramblers. Stella revealed a shocking turn of events on Magicx; Bloom caught Sky cheating on her. Yet there are those in Bloom's circle of friends who believe that things aren't what they seem. Stella asked Max and his team to come to Magicx to clear up this mystery. On with the show!

Chapter 2: Tear-Stained Reunion

"So this is Magicx," said an awe-struck Jill, "It's a lot nicer than the last parallel universe we visited."

"You can say that again," said Andrew, "With absolute certainty."

The Ramblers found themselves in the city that shared the name of the planet that served as the central point in the magical universe. The brains of the group, (Violet and Virgil) starred in amazement at the advanced level of technology around them. The younger girls of the group (Julie, Fay, Laura and also Violet) were looking at the strange and incredible fashion statements the people of the city were wearing. Everyone else was just looking around, wishing they had more than one pair of eyes.

"You can sightsee later," said Stella, "We need to get to Alfea and help Bloom." With that Stella did a teleportation spell that soon had everyone outside the gates of Alfea, school for Fairies.

"Don't ever do that again!" exclaimed Michael as he and the others from his universe gasped in surprise at the sudden teleportation.

"I agree," said Max, "If you're going to transport us from one place to another, at least warn us about it first."

"But you got to admit," said Virgil, "It was an exhilarating experience."

Inside the school grounds they met up with Flora, Helia and the others, including Layla's boyfriend Tatewaki Kuno. Old friends greeted each other while new faces were introduced. Tecna and the others, who went with Bloom to fight Voldemort the previous summer, were shocked to see not only Fay alive, but also Jill's husband Andrew.

"We were told you were dead," said Tecna, "That you were dragged into a Thinny a few years ago."

"I was," said Andrew, "But I'm not so easy to kill."

"None of us Meta-Humans are easy to kill," said Jill, "Especially when we have something worth fighting for."

"And that would be?" asked Flora.

"Three simple ideals that mean a whole lot," said Laura, "Truth, Justice and Freedom."

"I prefer two simpler, yet equally important ideas," said Shawn, "Love and Peace."

"Truth, Justice, Freedom and Peace I get," said Carmen, "But I don't think Love is what Bloom needs right now."

"It's exactly what Bloom needs," said Stella, "She needs to know that there are people who love and care for her. Otherwise she might do something stupid."

"Wait a second," said Musa, "Weren't you supposed to stay with Bloom?"

"It's all right," said Elise, "Morgan is with her."

"You left Bloom alone with Morgan!?!" exclaimed Stella before running towards the school dorms.

"What?" asked Carmen, "What did we do?"

"For the student body president of your school," said Riven, "And the smartest witch of your generation, you two can be really dumb sometimes." With that he, Brandon, Flora and the rest of Bloom's friends headed after Stella. Max and his team followed.

"I take it that this Morgan isn't someone to be left alone with," Laura said.

"Morgan's okay in he own right," said Flora, "She loves particle jokes, but she's always there for her friends."

"But given Bloom's current state of mind," said Tecna, "I wouldn't leave her alone with any one person."

"Especially if that person is a witch," said Musa.

"I thought you were cool with witches by now," said Carmen to Musa.

"I am," said Musa, "I just think you would be more responsible than to leave Bloom alone with Morgan."

"I would never do anything irresponsible to Bloom!" snapped Carmen, "I swore an oath to serve her, and a witches' oath is her bond."

Stella meanwhile was already halfway to the dorm room she, Bloom and the other members of the Winx Club shared. As she raced down the halls, terrible thoughts crept into Stella's mind on what she might find.

One example was that Bloom slashed her wrists with a straight razor. Another was that she overdosed on sleeping pills. Even worse was that Bloom asked Morgan to throw a hairdryer into the tub while Bloom was taking a bath.

"Oh god!" exclaimed Stella, "Oh please, god, don't let it be true!" She reached the door to her dorm and burst in. The girl's dorm had one big sitting room filled with couches and cushions, connecting to the bedrooms and bathroom. Stella saw Morgan lounging on one of the couches, reading a manga she bought on Earth.

"What did you do!?!" shouted Stella, "What did you do to my best friend!?!!"

"Quiet!" hissed Morgan, "Bloom's alright. She's in her room taking a nap. At least she was taking a nap, before you cam barging in here."

"Oh," whispered Stella, "Sorry, I just thought she would convince you to do something terrible."

"Like what?" asked Morgan, "Help her kill herself? I'm crazy, but not that crazy."

It was then that the others arrived at the dorm. There was a bit of a pileup at the door, due to the fact that everyone was trying to get in at once.

Both Stella and Morgan 'shushed' the others. "Bloom's alright," said Stella, "Everyone wait outside. I'll go check on her."

Everyone except Flora, Brandon, Musa, and Carmen, as well as Jill, Laura, Max, Steve and Virgil stayed in the lower dorm with Morgan. Stella went up to Bloom's room and knocked on the door.

"Bloom?" asked Stella, "Sweetie? You okay in there?"

"Go away, Stella," said Bloom in a quiet, miserable tone, "I want to be alone."

Stella sighed in relief that her friend was alive, still depressed, but alive. "Well I'm coming in anyway," said Stella, "'Cause there's some people who want to talk to you."

She opened the door and went in. Bloom had the lights turned off and the curtains closed so that the room was in near darkness. "I don't want to talk to anyone," said Bloom, "I don't want any cheering up. It's my right to be miserable if I want to."

"You've been miserable long enough, sweetie," said Stella as she threw the curtains open. Bloom looked terrible: her bright red hair tangled and sticking out at odd ends, her face stained with tears, her eyes red and dry from all the crying.

"Honey, you're a mess!" exclaimed Stella, "Let's get you cleaned up."

"Stella, please!" snapped Bloom, "Just leave me alone!"

"Oh no," said Stella, "I'm not going to let you drown in self pity. Now get out of bed and clean yourself up. You've got company downstairs."

Bloom opened her mouth to retort, but Stella beat her to the punch. "I don't want to hear how miserable you are! I don't care that you want to be left alone. Now get up, damn it! Up!! UP!!!"

Realizing that it was pointless to argue, Bloom got out of bed. "You know that you can be really mean sometimes," she said.

"Only when I've put my foot down," replied Stella.

Half an hour later Bloom and Stella emerged from the bedroom. Bloom looked much better after a long, hot shower. She wore blue jeans and a red t-shirt. Her eyes were still bloodshot somewhat. All the time Stella brought her friend up to speed on the latest happenings to Max and his team.

After coming down the stairs she saw Jill and the other ramblers. There was a moment of silence as Bloom realized that her friends from the other world were here.

Max broke the ice: "For my 15th birthday, my dad and uncle took me deer hunting. We bagged a good-sized doe and planned to butcher it for venison. But before we could get it to town a mountain lion stole the carcass. We chassed the critter ten miles before catching up, the creature dragging our prize all the way. What was left of the deer was the sorriest thing I had ever seen in my life."

"You think I look that bad?" asked Bloom.

"No," said," Max, "I'm just thought you'd feel better that there are other things worse off than you are."

"Ignore him," said Jill, "He knows not what he speaks of."

Bloom managed to smile at Jill's joke. "Is it true that you got married?"

"You bet!" said Jill as she showed off her wedding band, "I found the man I loved, after I thought I lost him for good. I'll introduce you to Andrew, as well as my stepdaughter, Violet. You'd like her, she's an absolute genius inventor."

A few minutes later Jill was introducing Bloom to Andrew, Violet and the new members of the team. Her spirits were definitely on the rise. But when Bloom shook hands with Julie, her face darkened, falling into a mixture of shock and rage. "You!" she exclaimed, "How dare you show yourself here!!"

"What are you taking about?" Stella asked.

"It's her!!" shouted Bloom, her finger pointing at Julie, "She's the girl I caught with Sky!!"

The end of chapter 2. Next chapter things really get fudged up, 'nuff said. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!


	3. Chapter 3: I Accuse Julie!

Last time Max and The Ramblers arrived in Magicx to help resolve the situation with Bloom and Sky. Stella had fears that Bloom, who had been left alone with Morgan, had attempted suicide. Her fears were abated when she found Bloom alive, deeply depressed, but alive. Bloom's spirits began to lift when she met up with old friends from the struggle against Voldemort. But that soon changed when she met Julie. On with the show! 

Chapter 3: I Accuse Julie!

A few minutes later Jill was introducing Bloom to Andrew, Violet and the new members of the team. Her spirits were definitely on the rise. But when Bloom shook hands with Julie, her face darkened, falling into a mixture of shock and rage. "You!" she exclaimed, "How dare you show yourself here!!"

"What are you taking about?" Stella asked.

"It's her!!" shouted Bloom, her finger pointing at Julie, "She's the girl I caught with Sky!!"

"You're f#ck$ng crazy!" said Julie, "I did no such thing!"

"Don't insult my intelligence!" snapped Bloom, "I saw you with Sky, I saw the look of savage lust on your face as he screwed you!!"

"I've never even seen your boyfriend," said Julie, "Nor have I ever been in this dimension before. So how could I have done what you say I did? Which I didn't."

"If Julie said she didn't do it," said Andrew, "Then she didn't do it."

"But I saw her with my own eyes!!!" raged Bloom.

"Everyone just calm down," said Max, "There's obviously more going on here than meets the eye. Now Bloom, exactly when did you catch Sky with another girl?"

"Four days ago," said Bloom, "I went to his dorm room at Red Fountain, just after lunchtime, 12:30 p.m. I was going to surprise him, when I heard noises from his bedroom. I thought at the time he was watching a dirty movie; at the time that was what I had hoped what was happening. I went in and say Sky, in bed, with that girl, Julie."

"I did not have sex with your boyfriend!" said Julie, "End of discussion."

"Can you prove that?" asked Brandon, "Where were you at that time?"

"Given that it was around 12:30 p.m. in this world," said Virgil as he made a quick calculation in his head, "It would have been 3:15 a.m. Eastern Standard Time in our world. Where were you then, Julie?"

"I was at home," said Julie, "Sleeping."

"Can anyone back that up?" asked Musa.

"Well, um, err," stammered Julie.

"I thought so," said Bloom, "So stop lying and just tell the truth."

"I never lie!!" snapped Julie.

"Then how do you explain what I saw?" asked Bloom, "You god-damned lying whore!!"

This obviously struck several nerves in Julie, for her spring-loaded pistols snapped into her hands. She aimed the guns at Bloom, "Say that again, you crazy bitch!!" 

"You are a g#d-damned lying whore!!" exclaimed Bloom, a pair of fireballs in her hands.

The two women readied themselves to kill, when Max stood between them, his huge revolvers already drawn. "Both of you stop this!!! This is neither the time or the place to kill each other!!"

After a few seconds of glaring at each other, Bloom powered down her fireballs, while Julie's pistols retracted back up her arms. "Now," said Max as he lowered his guns, "We're gonna get this whole mess sorted out. Julie, can you prove that you weren't here four days ago? Have you any alibi to back up your story?"

"She does," said Fay, "I'm her alibi."

"Fay, don't," said Julie, "It's not worth ruining your reputation."

"It's the only way to clear your name," said Fay, "And I don't give a f#ck about my reputation anyway. I was with Julie at the time. We were both in bed, together."

"You mean…" said Laura, "That you, and Julie…"

"Yes," said Julie in a reluctant tone, "Fay and I are lovers. We've been so since the mission to that parallel Earth where we rescued Andrew."

"I honestly didn't know that," said Steve.

"I did," said Sally-Ann, "I always figured that she swung the other way."

"Oh, I forgot you were here, Sally-Ann," said Julie, "Normally you're talking up a storm by now."

"I've had a rough couple of days," said Sally-Ann.

"Well putting aside who sleeps with which gender," said Jill, "It proves that Julie didn't do it with Sky."

"That may be," said Tecna, "But we have evidence that proves the opposite. Timmy is on his way right now with a security recording from Red Fountain that places Julie at the school, with Sky."

A short time later Timmy showed up with a recording crystal. The image from the crystal showed a full color, three-dimensional view of the corridor outside Sky's dorm room. From one direction Sky came walking towards his room, a huge, expecting smile on his face. At his side was a giggling girl who looked just like Julie. The girl was wearing a very revealing pink halter-top with an obscenely green pink miniskirt. They were both laughing as Sky opened the door to his dorm.

"That's not me," said Julie as the recording finished playing, "I'm telling you that's not me. I would never wear something that sluttish, especially if it's pink."

"Well it proves two things," said Stella, "One that you're lying, and that you've got poor fashion sense."

"This video proves nothing," said Fay, "For all we know there's someone native to this dimension who looks just like Julie."

"I want to see that recording again," said Violet as she tied her hair back with a ribbon. After explaining that the controls for recording were voice activated, Timmy played the recording again. Just before the image ended with Sky and the girl going into the dorm room, Violet paused the video. "I thought as much, rewind." The video played backwards for a few seconds, "Pause," the image froze with the girl's face clearly visible, "Now zoom in on the girl's face." The image of the girl's face soon filled the display.

"That's not Julie," said Violet, "And I can prove it. Exhibit A; that girl's eyes are dark brown, while Julies' are yellow, like a hawk."

"She could have used contacts," said Bloom.

"I have perfect vision," said Julie, "And I never miss with my guns. Combined with my eyes, I wound up with the nickname 'Hawkeye.'"

"Moving on," said Violet, "Exhibit B; no scar." True enough the girl on the recording had flawless complexion. Julie, however, had a hooked shaped scar below her right eye that she had since she was 9 years old; the scar a result of a faulty propane tank and an ill-timed baseball throw.

"Care to explain that?" asked Julie, daring Bloom to challenge her innocence.

"You could have used makeup to cover the scar," said Bloom. It seemed that she was determined to blame the incident on Julie.

"We're getting nowhere fast," said Andrew, "There has to be something that can prove Julie's innocence beyond any reasonable doubt."

"There might just be," said Violet, "This image looks more like it was manufactured instead of recorded live."

Timmy, Tecna and Elise then scanned the recording crystal with their PDA's. Tecna then used a spell to confirm their findings. "She's right," said Tecna, "The recording has been tampered with. What we saw was placed in with the rest of the security feed. I can't believe we didn't think of checking the crystal for tampering."

"I can't believe a mortal thought of it," said Elise.

"I'm no ordinary mortal," said Violet, "And neither are my siblings. My brother Klaus can remember everything he's ever read, while my sister Sunny can draw the future. It doesn't always work when she wants it to, she draws when she feels like it."

"Moving on," said Jill, "Bloom, it's obvious you were mistaken. It couldn't have been Julie you saw with Sky."

"Then how come I remember seeing the two of them in bed?" she asked.

"How can you be sure of anything" asked Fay, "For all we know your memories have been tampered with as well."

"Bloom," said Jill, "Are you absolutely sure of what you saw?"

Bloom started to answer, but paused. "Come to think of it, it does all seem somewhat fuzzy."

"Then there's no doubt that there's more going on here that meets the eye," said Max, "I want to question Sky about his side of the story. Where is he?"

"On his home planet of Eraklyon," said Riven.

"My cousins are in town," said Stella, "Their ship, _The Night Rider_, can get you to Eraklyon and back in less than two hours."

"Okay then," said Max, "Steve, Michael, Shawn, you go with them and pick up Sky."

"You got it, boss," said Steve, "we'll teach that punk a lesson he'll never forget."

"Don't!" said Bloom, "I mean, I know that something bad happened between Sky and me. I don't know for sure anymore what really happened, but that's no reason to hurt him."

"We won't hurt him," said Michael, "Much."

"I'll go with you," said Virgil, "I want to see this ship that belongs to Stella's cousins."

As they left Stella asked Flora, "I need you and Helia to go pick up Kodatchi and Shampoo. Bloom is their friend, they'll want to be here for her."

"Of course," said Flora, "We'll be back in no time."

"Who's Shampoo and Kodatchi?" asked Jill.

"Shampoo is a member of the Amazon tribe from Bloom's Earth," said Tecna, "Bloom saved her life a few years ago, making Bloom an honorary member of the tribe."

"And Kodatchi," said Timmy, "Is Tatewaki's sister. I've got to warn you, she's certifiably psychotic."

"Well that's just great," said Andrew, "A man hater and a lunatic."

"Laura," said Max, "If Bloom's memories have been tampered with, can you restore them with your powers?"

"Perhaps," said Laura, "I've never tried to reconstruct tampered memories before. Reading someone's mind in order to learn his or her identity is one thing, but memory is a horse of a different color. But I believe I can help Bloom. I just need time to prepare myself; an hour's meditation and I'll be ready."

A short time later Riven, Brandon, Musa, Layla and Tatewaki, along with Steve, Michael, Shawn and Virgil, arrived at the Magicx spaceport. They reached the docking bay where _The Night Rider_ was situated.

"I said it before," said Brandon, "And I'll say it again. It's a piece of junk!"

"And as I said it before," said Stella's cousin Amanda, "Don't go badmouthing my ship!" She then stroke the hull of _The Night Rider_ as if to calm the ship, "That's right, don't listen to the mean man, you know I'll always love you."

"It's uncanny," said Michael, "Amanda looks almost exactly like Stella. You're sure they're not twins?"

"Believe me," said Musa, "If Stella had a twin, we'd all know about it."

"So when do we leave?" asked Layla.

"As soon as Beauregard and Lucinda find Ryoga," said Amanda, "He got lost again."

"Typical," said Tatewaki, "Ryoga never did have any sense of direction."

A few minutes later, after Amanda showed Michael, Steve, Shawn and Virgil the works of _The Night Rider,_ Stella's other cousins showed up. Beauregard and Lucinda had long since abandoned the life of royalty for the freedom of space. They, along with Amanda, who hated being cooped up in the Solarian palace, bought and fixed up _The Night Rider_ a few years ago.

With Beauregard and Lucinda was Ryoga Hibiky, a martial artist from Earth. He and several other martial artists helped Bloom defeat the Shadow Riders a few months back. Afterwards, Ryoga asked to join up with The Night Rider, in hopes to see all that he could see of the universe. His only flaws were his tendencies towards violent emotions and his lack of directional sense. Seriously, Ryoga couldn't find his way across the street with both eyes open and a road map.

"What happened this time?" asked Amanda.

"I was looking for the parts needed for the oxygen recyclers," said Ryoga, "And I took a wrong turn."

"'Wrong turn' my ass," said Beauregard, "You were almost halfway across the planet when we caught up with you."

Introductions were made and everyone got onboard the ship, which soon blasted into orbit. "That was trippy!" said Steve.

"This is some ship," said Virgil, "Wish we had boats like this on our Earth."

"Doesn't The Bureau have it's own space station?" asked Michael, "One with its own transporter?"

"We did," said Virgil, "But it was on loan from NASA. We had to give it back."

"Setting coordinates for Eraklyon," said Lucinda, "Amanda, you all set down there?"

"As set as can be," replied Amanda from the engine room, "Let's just hope we don't blow up before we get there."

"Blow up?" asked Shawn nervously.

"Nothing to worry about, kid," said Beauregard, "There's just two things you need to know about space travel, and Bloom would testify to them. One; don't panic. Two; always know where your towel is."

"I'll take that under consideration," said Shawn.

"Better brace yourself, new people," said Lucinda, "Those uninitiated to hyperspace travel may find their first time unpleasant with them. First time is kind of like being drunk."

"What's so unpleasant about being drunk?" asked Virgil, who just happened to be a recovering alcoholic.

"Ask a glass of water," answered Riven. With that _The Night Rider_ shot into hyperspace, destination: Eraklyon.

The end of chapter 4. Next chapter our travelers reach Eraklyon and kidnap Sky for what he did to Bloom. But did he really do anything? Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!


	4. Chapter 4: Royal Kidnapping

Last time Bloom accused Julie of being the one she caught Sky with. Julie denied the accusations, but Bloom was unyielding in her convictions. Fay revealed that she and Julie were together when Bloom caught Sky. Violet then proved without a doubt that it wasn't Julie in the first place. Convinced that there's more going on here than meets the eye, several of our heroes left for Eraklyon to drag Sky back. On with the show!

Chapter 4: Royal Kidnapping

"I think I'm gonna be sick!!" exclaimed Shawn as he, Michael, Steve and Virgil endured their first hyperspace journey. Riven, Brandon, Musa, Layla and Tatewaki were taking the trip in stride, not bothered by the turbulence.

"This is nuts!" said Michael, who looked two shades green, "If this is how my world is going to travel in space, then I'm voting to stay put on solid ground."

"Relax," said Brandon, "You'll get used to it."

"When?" asked Virgil who looked three shades green.

"The first hyperspace trip is always the worst," said Lucinda as she made a slight course correction, causing _The Night Rider_ to shudder to the right, "The return trip should be better."

"The first time I went through hyperspace," said Tatewaki, "Was not an enjoyable experience. Yet, I persevered and now my constitution doth be of the highest level."

"He's just boasting," said Layla, "But it's true."

"So what's the plan when we get to Eraklyon?" asked Musa.

"If I had my way," said Riven, "We'd grab Sky, bash is brains in, cook him and eat him. He'd deserve it all for what he did."

"Dude!" said Brandon, "We're not cannibals. And we're not really sure what happened between Sky and Bloom. That's why we're going to his home and get him back to Magicx." He then looked to Michael and his fellow Ramblers, "Just to be safe, we're not going to hurt the guy."

"We're not going to hurt him," said Michael, "just tie him up and throw him into the cargo hold, that's my plan."

"Be glad that Fay didn't come with us," said Shawn, "She'd slice Sky up like that! (insert finger snapping sound)"

"You know what she'd say to that," said Steve, "She'd say, 'who said anything about slicing him up? I just want to carve a little Z into his forehead.'"

"That girl scares me a bit," said Musa, "I mean, I remember what she did when we all fought the Death Eaters last year, she was just plain nuts!"

"She took on Stormy all by herself," said Riven, "And wound up with her hands broken."

"That's right," said Steve, "Then Laura got so mad, she made a Thinny. That Stormy chick and her sister Darcy got pulled in. I remember that Icy abandoned them."

"But Icy later on that she rescued her sisters," said Virgil, "What happened to those three anyway?"

"It is a long story," said Tatewaki, "One filled with adventure, angst, romance and blood, a large amount of blood. In summary, I killed Stormy Trix with my own sword."

"Carmen later killed Icy," said Layla, "While Darcy got away."

"I thought Bloom would be the one to kill Icy," said Virgil, "Those two hated each other."

"True," said Riven, "But Carmen's hatred of Icy went much deeper than Bloom's."

"I hate to interrupt your talking about good times," said Beauregard, "But we're almost at Eraklyon."

"That was quick," said Shawn.

"You can thank Tecna, Timmy and Elise," said Amanda, "They helped upgrade the hyperdrive more than once."

Two minutes later _The Night Rider_ exited hyperspace and entered orbit around the many-mooned world of Eraklyon. They soon landed at the royal spaceport where they explained the situation to the palace officials. Apparently Sky had locked himself in his room once he returned from Magicx and hasn't come out since.

Brandon decided the first thing to do was the direct approach. He banged his fist against Sky's door, "Dude! Open up! It's me!"

"Go away, Brandon," said Sky from the other side of the door, "I want to be alone."

"Well we're not just going to go away, man," said Riven, "We're going to get this mess cleaned up, so just come out!"

"What's there to clean up," said Sky in a dull, depressed tone, "I cheated on the one I loved; I cheated on Bloom."

"We don't know that for sure," said Layla, "So come back with us to Magicx, and we'll get it all sorted out."

"What's there to sort out?" asked Sky, "I cheated on Bloom, end of story. So, just leave me alone."

"Enough of this sh$t!" said Steve, "Stand back, I'll get him out of there." Just like that, (insert finger snapping sound) he kicked the door open. That's the understatement of the year; he completely destroyed the door, leaving nothing but splinters.

"Rise and shine, hound dog!!" said Steve as he and the others entered Sky's room. He apparently had been sitting in the corner, thinking and moping, when Steve destroyed his door. Sky got up and was about to yell at Brandon, when he recognized Steve. "What the hell are you doing here!?!" His rage mixed with surprise.

"Oh, nothing much," said Steve in an innocent tone, "Just kidnapping you." He then produced from his pocked a pair of handcuffs while Michael had a long length of rope, "Now hold still."

Naturally, Sky wasn't the person who would allow himself to be captured so easily. Reacting swiftly, his training from Red Fountain kicking in, Sky rushed towards his desk, grabbed his favorite energy saber and activated it. "If you think I'm going to be kidnapped without a fight," said Sky as he took up a defensive posture, "You're horribly mistaken."

"You just made your second mistake," said Steve as he activated his power pole, "Underestimating a Meta-Human." Moving at near impossible speeds, Steve closed the distance between himself and Sky and with one flick of his wrist, disarmed Sky. "And your first mistake," he then grabbed Sky in a full-nelson hold, "Was cheating on Bloom, who loves you very much. You ought to be hanged out to dry for screwing around with another girl."

Thirty seconds later Sky was handcuffed, tied up, gagged, ear-plugged, thrown into a canvas bag and dragged through the palace, thrashing like there was no tomorrow.

"Oh don't be such a baby," said Shawn, "This is for your own good."

"You deserve it for what you did to Bloom," said Michael, "Even though I've never met you or Bloom until today, you still deserve it."

"We're not positive what Sky did," said Layla, "So don't be too hasty to judge him."

"Whatever!" said Michael, "We got him, that's all that matters."

"Well we should feel lucky that Sky's parents are on vacation," said Musa, "We'd be in so much trouble if they caught us doing this."

"His parents may be away," said Tatewaki, "But trouble doth be ahead of us." True enough, trouble just approached the 'kidnappers,' trouble with a capital D.

"What in the name of all that is posh and trendy is going on here!?!!" demanded Diaspro.

"This doesn't concern you, Diaspro," said Riven, "So just be on your way."

"Yeah," said Musa, "You just go back to your private palace, with your tacky clothes, and your hair bleach, 'cause we all know that you do that!"

"How dare you!!" snapped Diaspro, "My hair is all natural, unlike some peoples, whom shall rename nameless."

"Just let it go," Riven said to Musa, who was on the verge of knocking out Diaspro's front teeth, "She's not worth it, she's too cheap."

"Give my regards to Bloom," said Diaspro, "Maybe now she'll think twice on her choice of men, and to stay away from other peoples property."

Layla then made to knock out all of Diaspro's teeth, but Tatewaki stopped her. "Don't! It is like what Sir Riven doth said, the harlot isn't worth it."

"That's right, I'm not worth it!" said Diaspro, "I mean, I am worth it, wait, I'm… F#ck you!!" with that she left.

"Who or what was that piece of work?" asked Michael.

"That," said Brandon as they hauled Sky out towards the spaceport and _The Night Rider_, "Was Sky's fiancée, before he dumped her fell in love with Bloom."

"She must have heard what happened between them," said Musa, "Word tends to travel fast among royalty."

"Well that sucks," said Steve, "And I'll bet she sucks also, know what I mean?"

"Just ignore the whore," said Tatewaki, "She doth be harmless, despite her contemptible tongue."

"I don't know about her being harmless," said Shawn, "I picked up some sinister vibes from her."

"You were probably sensing how much she hates us," said Brandon, "Nothing to worry about."

"Ah," said Beauregard as Riven and Michael tossed Sky into the cargo hold, "I see all went according to plan."

"You bet," said Steve, "Textbook kidnapping." Everyone then looked at him like he was crazy or something, "Not that I've read a book in kidnapping."

"I'm amazed you've ever read anything," teased Virgil.

"Don't start with me, man!" exclaimed Steve, "I'm as anxious as you are, so let's just get this over with."

"Right," said Musa, "Back to Magicx."

As _The Night Rider_ took off, Diaspro watched from a palace balcony. She giggled quietly to herself as the ship left the atmosphere. She then pulled out a cell phone and dialed a secure number, "It's me. Phase One is complete… Yes, everything proceeded as I said it would, with a few unpredicted additions… No, those Earthlings who were with Brandon and the others won't affect the outcome. Proceed with Phase Two."

With that she hung up, "You think you're suffering now, Sky? Well guess again. You and your little Earth fairy are going to experience torment that will be legendary, even in Hell."

The end of chapter 4. Next chapter our heroes attempt to get to the bottom of this mess. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!


	5. Chapter 5: The Truth

Last time Brandon, Musa, Riven, Layla and Tatewaki, along with Steve, Michael, Virgil and Shawn, journeyed to Eraklyon to 'kidnap' Sky. The kidnapping was a success. With the 'promiscuous' (or not) prince safely secured, the 'kidnappers' headed back to Magicx, where all of our heroes expect to get some answers. Meanwhile, everyone's favorite royal pain in the ass, Diaspro, watched and continued her malevolent scheme, whatever it is. On with the show!

Chapter 5: The Truth

Back at Alfea, Stella just heard from Brandon that they have Sky secured and are on their way back. "Sounds great," she said into her cell phone, "I'll be sure to tell Bloom the good news. See you soon, snookums!"

"How soon till they're back?" asked Andrew, checking his watch for the third time that minute."

"Not long," answered Stella as she hung up her phone, "About half an hour."

"Good," said Andrew, "They've made excellent time."

"Indeed," said Max, "I promise you, we're going to get to the bottom of this."

"How can we thank you for helping us?" asked Tecna.

"It's our pleasure," said Jill, "What are friends for? Besides, it'll be a cold day in Hell before I stand by idly and allow outside forces to interfere with true love, for that is what Bloom and Sky have."

Meanwhile Elise and Carmen were entranced by Fay's story of her experience of death and rebirth. "Unbelievable!" said Carmen, "You were killed, yet your living soul survived and attached itself to another."

"It sure did," said Violet, "I had to carry Fay's _katra_ in my head for a few weeks before Virgil cloned a new body for her."

"That wouldn't have worked here in this universe," said Elise, "Cloning was outlawed many years ago. Only one species is allowed to use such medical science, The Tleiaxu. Damn good with genetics, but they never share their secrets with outsiders."

"How good are they?" asked an intrigued Violet.

"Good enough to grow an adult clone body in less than a day," answered Elise, "They can also make gholas, which are clones of people who are already dead."

"Like me," said Fay, "I died, they cloned me a new body, and my soul was put into it."

"Not so," said Elise, "A ghola has no memory of whom it was cloned from, unless the memories are Awakened. In your case, Fay, the DNA sample used to make your new body was taken when you were still alive, so you're a clone, not a ghola."

"How do you go about 'Awakening' a ghola's memories?" asked Violet.

"Only the Tleiaxu know for sure," said Carmen, "Something to do with creating a mental crisis in the mind of the ghola."

Bloom, meanwhile, having had the chance to calm down and collect her self, was apologizing to Julie. "I'm sorry I accused you of doing it with Sky," she said, "I overreacted and had no right to act the way I did."

"Damn right you overreacted," said Julie, "But I'm willing to be forgiving, this time. I'm just anxious to get this whole mess cleared up."

Just then Laura came in the room, "I'm ready."

"So what should I do?" asked Bloom as she and Laura sat at a table.

"Just give me your hand and relax," said Laura, "I'll do all the work. You may feel an intense rushing in your head. That's just me entering your mind."

"What!?!" exclaimed Bloom, "No! No way I'm letting anyone inside my head!"

"Just relax," said Laura, "I won't hurt you."

"I don't think so," said Bloom, "I've had enough of people messing with my mind."

"I'm not going to mess with your mind," said Laura in a reassuring tone, "I'm just gonna poke around a bit, looking for the truth. I give you my word, no harm will be done to your mind, I promise."

"You can trust her," said Jill, "Just make sure she doesn't get angry when she's in your mind."

For some reason Jill's assurances eased Bloom's fear of having her mind invaded again. "Alright," said Bloom, "lets just get it over with."

"Okay," said Laura as she held onto Bloom's hand, "One quick mind probe coming up!"

"Ouch!" exclaimed Bloom, "Do you have to grip so tightly!?"

"Sorry," said Laura, "That's how it works."

Within a few seconds Bloom began to feel a sudden rush in her head as Laura examined her recent memories. "Let's see now, uh-huh, yes, yes I see now. It's a fake all right. The memory of you catching Sky with another girl, it was put into your head to cover up what really happened."

"And just what really happened?" asked Stella.

"I remember now," said Bloom in a slightly dazed tone, "Sky and I, we were in the park, not at Red Fountain. We were watching the sun go down. He was about to ask me something, when someone came up from behind and, and, somebody grabbed me and pressed something to my face, something that smelled really bad. After that, I…I can't remember, the rest is all a blank."

"Try harder, Laura," said Jill, "Bloom may have seen who did this to her."

"She won't," said Laura as she let go of Bloom's hand, "Because there are no memories beyond that. She and Sky must have been drugged. Their attackers then implanted the false memories into Bloom's mind. The same thing must have happened to Sky. We'll know for sure when I've had a chance to examine his mind for false memories."

"So somebody attacked Bloom and Sky," said Carmen, "Drugged them and made them remember a compromising situation, one that would force them to break up."

"Indeed," said Tecna, "But who would do such a dastardly deed?"

"Darcy," said Morgan, "This is just the sort of sick, twisted, sadistic plan she'd come up with."

"If it was Darcy she would have followed up on it," said Elise, "She's not the kind to just start something and let it go."

It was then that Flora and Helia came back from Earth, with them were Kodatchi Kuno from Japan, her boyfriend Tenchi Masaki, and Shampoo of the Amazon tribe.

About a year before Bloom met Stella, she and her mom took a trip to Japan as part of a tour of rare flowers of Asia. While in Tokyo, Bloom encountered Kodatchi. Now Kodatchi is a rare young woman, a brilliant gymnastic who mixed her favorite sport with martial arts. On the other hand she is, well, much more than eccentric.

Now Shampoo, she's a horse of a different color indeed. After Tokyo, Bloom and her mother went to China. There Bloom saved Shampoo from drowning in a river. According to the law of her tribe, Shampoo was honored bound to serve Bloom until the young Amazon could save Bloom's life in turn. As thanks for saving her life and in celebration of their new friendship, Shampoo made Bloom and honorary Amazon.

Then there's Tenchi, also from Japan, and a brilliant sword master. His grandfather, Yosho, is the half-brother of Ayeka, Empress of Jurai. Now Tenchi never asked have alien relatives, or to be related to royalty. All Tenchi asked for in life was simple things, yet fate considered to throw him into one mess of trouble after another.

These three Earthlings, along with several others from Japan, helped Bloom and her friends fight and defeat The Shadow Riders a few months back.

"Honored friend!" exclaimed Shampoo as she rushed over to Bloom, "Is true? Did boyfriend Sky really cheat on you?"

Before Bloom or anyone could answer, Kodatchi pulled out her primary weapon, a long, gymnastic ribbon. "Where's that two-timing man whore!?!!! I'll kill the bastard!!!"

"Nobody is killing anyone, Kodatchi!" exclaimed Bloom, "Sky didn't do it. We were set up."

"Set up?" asked Tenchi, "Who and why?"

"That's what we hope to find out," said Max. Introductions were made between the Ramblers and Bloom's friends from Earth.

"Feeling better?" Stella asked Bloom.

"A lot better," replied Bloom, "Now that I know for sure what really happened, or at least what didn't happened. But Sky still thinks he cheated on me."

"I can remedy that problem," said Laura, "As soon as he and the others get here."

The wait was short. Five minutes later Brandon, Musa, Riven, Layla, Tatewaki, along with Steve, Virgil, Michael and Shawn, returned with their 'prize.'

"Success!" exclaimed Riven, "One cheating, princely boyfriend, bagged and tagged."

"I hate to destroy your visions of victory," said Timmy, "But Sky's innocent. He didn't cheat on Bloom."

"Really?" asked an embarrassed Steve, "Well, I feel sheepish."

"You sure?" Layla asked Bloom, "You were so certain of what happened."

"Laura examined my memories," said Bloom, "What I thought happened, never did. Someone put a false memory in me."

Shawn and Michael meanwhile had released and untied Sky from the sack. He didn't hear the current conversation, for he was madder than a henhouse full of wet hens. Then he saw Bloom, and all the color drained from his face. "Bloom! I, I don't know what to say! I don't even remember why I did what I did."

Then he saw Julie, "Oh gods! It's you!! Listen, about the other day, I don't even know why we ended up like that."

"I've never seen you before today," said Julie calmly, "So how could we have done what you think we did?"

"It's okay, Sky," said Bloom, "It didn't happened. Seriously, you never cheated on me, it was a false memory that someone put in my mind to break us up. They did the same thing to you."

"What?" asked an understandably confused Sky, "Are you sure? It seemed so real to me."

"It's a false memory," said Laura, "And I'll prove it to you. Just give me your hand and I'll examine your brain. I'll have the truth dug up in no time."

"Uh," said a hesitant Sky, not comfortable with having someone who isn't always mentally stable poke inside his head.

"Just relax," said Laura, a reassuring smile on her face, "I'll be as gentle as a lamb." Sky then took Laura's hand, "That works out with weights!" Sky then winced as Laura gripped his hand tightly, beginning her scan of his recent memories. "Uh-huh, there it is, another false memory. And the truth should be right about, there!"

Sky then remembered what really happened. He was in the park with Bloom, watching the sun go down. "Oh my!" said Laura as she let go of Sky's hand, "That is interesting, very interesting."

"What's interesting?" asked Brandon.

"It's personal," said Sky as he rubbed the circulation back into his hand, "But that isn't important. What is is that I remember what happened. We were attacked from behind and drugged. But before I passed out, I remember a familiar face, one I hoped to never see again. I saw Diaspro, looking down at us. She whispered something to be before everything went black. She said, 'Welcome to the world of suffering.'"

"That bitch!!" Shouted Stella, "That goat-sucking whore!!"

"I knew we should have killed her when we hand the chance," said Tatewaki to Tenchi, "You had her at your mercy not too long ago, when she attacked you."

"I know," said Tenchi, "She meant to blast Ranma, but hit me instead. I then punished her by giving her the spanking to end all spankings. I thought some humiliation would do her some good. Apparently I was wrong."

"We saw her on Eraklyon," said Musa, "We passed her on our way out of the palace."

"I knew there was something wrong about that little tramp," said Shawn, "We should have grabbed her when the opportunity presented itself."

"We didn't know," said Virgil, "There was no way we could have known."

"Well we know now," said Stella as she pulled out her cell phone and dialed The Night Rider, "Hello, Amanda? I need you, Beauregard and Lucinda to go back to Eraklyon and kidnap Diaspro. She was behind the whole thing. Steve, Michael and Shawn will explain fully when they get to the ship. Thanks, Amanda, you're the best."

"Two kidnapping in one day," said Steve eagerly as he, Shawn and Michael got up, "This just gets better and better." If only things did get better.

Just then all the light went out of the room, blinding everyone into chaos and bedlam. A minute or so of darkness later, Stella had one of her rare moments where she actually knows what she's doing. Being from Solaria, spells involving light came naturally to the blond bombshell. She flooded the room with light.

"Is everyone alright?" asked Stella.

"We're fine," said Brandon, "But what happened?"

"A darkness spell," said Carmen, "One that drains all light from a specific area. I should know; I'm a creature of the night."

"Well maybe you should watch were you're casting spells," said Julie, "Somebody could get hurt."

"I didn't cast that spell," said Carmen.

"It wasn't me," said Morgan.

"Or me," said Elise.

"We've got a bigger problem than who cast what spell," said Riven, "Somebody's missing here."

"Bloom and Sky!!" exclaimed Stella, "They're gone!!"

The end of chapter 5. What horrible fortune has afflicted Bloom and Sky now? Find out in the next chapter. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!


	6. Chapter 6: The Madness Deepens

Last chapter be found out that Sky really didn't cheat on Bloom, that the memories of said incident were false. What really happened was that somebody ambushed Bloom and Sky while they were on a date. Somebody drugged them and implanted false memories, and to add insult to injury, Diaspro is apparently behind it. Just when Stella asked Steve, Michael and Shawn to 'kidnap' Diaspro, somebody kidnapped Bloom and Sky. On with the show!

Chapter 6: The Madness Deepens

"How did this happen!?" demanded Stella, "How could it happen!?! Right under my nose even!!"

"I'm detecting the residue of a very powerful teleportation spell," said Tecna as she scanned the room with her PDA, "Whoever sent that darkness spell, also transported Bloom and Sky out of the room."

"Can you tell where they were teleported to?" asked Brandon.

"I can't locate the destination," said Timmy.

"Me neither," said Elise, "Whoever cast that spell did a terrific job covering their tracks."

"Who could have done this?" asked Flora.

"Haven't you been paying attention to what we just talked about?" asked Julie, "It's that Diaspro bitch! She's behind all of this sh$t!"

"There's no proof that this Diaspro is responsible," said Virgil.

"You heard what Sky said after Laura read his mind," said Shawn, "He heard Diaspro gloating over him after he and Bloom were drugged in the park. Of course she's behind this."

"I should have killed that bitch when I had the chance," said Steve, "We saw her on Eraklyon. She was right there. I'll bet she was laughing at us when we took off."

"I intend to rectify the situation," said Michael, "We're going back to Eraklyon to get that bleached-haired whore!"

"Yeah!!" said Steve, "We'll get her good!!"

"Killing Diaspro won't do any good if we can't find out where Bloom and Sky were taken," said Max, "If she really is responsible for this mess, then she's the only one who can tell us where Bloom and Sky are. So, you three are not, repeat, not, to kill Diaspro. Bring her back alive and unharmed."

"No problem," said Michael.

"We'll go with you," said Stella, with Brandon nodding in agreement, "I want to look Diaspro in the eye when you capture her."

"We're coming with you also," said Kodatchi. She, Shampoo, Tatewaki and Layla also nodded in agreement

"Again, no problem," said Michael.

Meanwhile…

At first Bloom and Sky were disoriented from both the darkness spell and the sudden teleportation. It didn't take them long to regain their sight and their sense of which way was up. Yet their disorientation was soon replaced by confusion, mixed with more than a hint of blind panic as they realized they were no longer at Alfea, or even on Magicx.

"What just happened?" asked Sky. They were in an empty chamber, roughly 20 feet square on all sides with no windows, no doors and painted black with white stripes.

"I think somebody teleported us out of the school," said Bloom, "And onto another planet. But where are we?"

"Where indeed?" boomed a familiar, female voice, followed by a short, insane laugh. The laughter seemed to be coming from all around them

"Diaspro!!" exclaimed Sky when he recognized the voice, "It's bad enough you drug us and implant false memories, just to get Bloom and I to break up! Now you kidnap us!? Are you crazy or something!?!"

"I guess I am a little mad," giggled the disembodied voice of Diaspro, "Maybe I always was mad. But that's not important now. What is is that you, dear Sky, suffer for what you did to me."

"And just what do you think Sky did to you?" asked Bloom.

"You know damn well what he did to me," said Diaspro coldly, "And he knows it as well. He rejected me, and by now both of you must realize that I don't take rejection well. Oh, and Bloom, don't bother using your powers to escape or contact your friends, they won't work here. I've made arrangements so that my little playground negates your Winx."

"Diaspro," said Sky as Bloom attempted to transform, but found that her captor told the truth, "I'm sorry that things didn't work out between us. I always considered you my friend, despite your selfish nature. But I love Bloom; I love her with all my heart, and nothing you do is going to change that."

"Love!?" exclaimed Diaspro, "Love!?! F#ck love!! And f#ck friendship as well! The only reason I ever wanted to be with you was that your parents and mine made an arranged marriage between us, which meant that I would someday be Queen of Eraklyon.

"Then out of the blue comes this pathetic Earth fairy, and guess what? She has the nerve to ease in on what was to be my property. And to make matters worse, Sky, your parents accepted her, her! A common pixy!!"

"I don't know what rock you've been living under," said Bloom, "But I happen to be the last Princess of Sparkx. My birth parents were Oritel and Miriam Mandragoran. They sacrificed themselves to save me from the last Trix coven. I didn't ask to be of royal blood, or to be raised on Earth, but that's how it worked out. And I'll thank you to not treat Sky like he's a baseball card or something you can collect. He's a human being, and I love him."

"I told you I don't give a f#ck about love," said Diaspro, "And guess what? I don't care about having Sky any more. He had his chance with me and blew it. You, Bloom, are welcome to him. That is, if you survive what's coming." She then laughed insanely again. "That's right, Bloom. Before this day is over, you are going to die, and your beloved Sky won't be able to stop it!

"You psychopath!!" exclaimed Bloom, "When my friends find you, you'll be lucky to survive the experience! Especially if Stella gets to you first."

"I expected as much from your friends, Bloom," said Diaspro, "I'll bet that they are on their way back to Eraklyon this minute, just to confront me with my 'crimes.' But it won't really be me they'll find. They'll encounter someone very close to me, and she'll be sure to keep them occupied while the three of us have some fun."

"What do you mean?" asked Sky.

"I'm getting to that," said Diaspro, "This whole experience is all for your benefit, Sky, all for your suffering."

Just then there was a blinding flash, and Bloom was gone.

"Bloom!!!!" shouted Sky.

"She's not here," said Diaspro in a mocking tone, "Rather, she's the goal of this little game I've come up for you. All you have to do is find Bloom, within twelve hours, and the both of you are free to go. But if you fail to reach her location within this complex before the time expires, then she will expire."

"When I find you, Diaspro!!" shouted Sky, "I'll kill you!!! Do you hear me!?!! I WILL KILL YOU WITH MY BARE HANDS!!!!!!"

"Perhaps," said Diaspro calmly, "But I suggest you focus your energy onto finding Bloom." Behind Sky a doorway appeared, opening into a long, dimly lit corridor, "You have twelve hours, starting now, so get moving!"

Seething with rage, Sky hurried into the corridor towards god knows what.

Bloom, meanwhile, had found herself in another chamber with no apparent exits. She had heard the entire exchange between Sky and Diaspro. "I always knew there was something wrong with you, Diaspro, but I never suspected that you do something like this."

"That just proves that I'm better than you," said Diaspro, "Anyway, you're not going anywhere, so just sit back and watch your beloved suffer, all because of you. And at the same time, you're going to watch your pathetic friends dance to my tune."

Behind Bloom appeared an image of Stella, Brandon, Layla, Tatewaki, Shampoo and Kodatchi, as well as Steve, Michael, Shawn and Stella's cousin aboard _The Night Rider_, heading for Eraklyon. Another image showed Diaspro sitting idly in one of the many gardens surrounding the royal palace of Eraklyon.

"Your friends thing they are going to capture me," taunted Diaspro, "They couldn't be further from the truth."

"If you're here," said Bloom, "Wherever here is, then who is that?"

"I told you already," said Diaspro, "She is someone very close to me. But as far as your pathetic friends are concerned, she _is_ me. By the time that ditz Stella and the others figure out they've been hoodwinked, you, my dear Bloom, will be dead, and your precious Sky will be drowning in his own misery and suffering."

"You're wrong!!" shouted Bloom, "My friends will figure out your little scheme in time. And Sky will find me; just you wait!!"

"We'll just see about that," said Diaspro, "By now your beloved is about to reach the next stage of his suffering. Watch…"

Bloom watched in horror as Sky was forced into one perilous situation after another. First he had to cross a room full of swinging axes, then a hallway full of flamethrowers. He then had to dodge heat-seeking dart launchers and motion activated buzz saws.

Yet Sky conquered all these challenges with flying colors; his training at Red Fountain was paying off.

"You underestimate Sky, Diaspro," said Bloom, "He'll find me with plenty of time to spare."

"I guess I did set the difficulty level a bit too low," said Diaspro in a tone like she was discussing the weather, "But that was just the first stage of my little game. Now comes Stage 2!!"

Sky then found that the corridor he was in had split into three paths. He had to choose: left, right or straight ahead.

"The left path will eventually lead to you, Bloom," said Diaspro, "But should Sky choose either of the other paths, he'll find himself hopelessly lost. Time will run out, and you will die!"

"He'll chose the right path," said Bloom, "And by right, I mean correct."

Sky then began to head towards the corridor on the right.

"No!!" shouted Bloom, "I mean the one on the left! Left!!"

Sky then paused, as if he heard Bloom's shouting. He then rethought his choice and walked into the left corridor.

"Lucky guess!!" snapped Diaspro.

"No," said Bloom, "He sensed that I was calling out to him. That's what love is all about, Diaspro; even though Sy and I have been separated by a great distance, we're still together in spirit."

"How many times do I have to say it!?!!" raged Diaspro, "F#ck love!! And I think it's time I changed the channel." The image of Sky disappeared and was replaced by the false Diaspro. "Watch, your friends are about to encounter my decoy."

_The Night Rider_ had made excellent time heading back to Eraklyon. Shortly after landing Stella and her 'strike team' had located Diaspro in one of the palace gardens. "Ah, Stella," said the faux Diaspro, (To Stella and the others, their target is the real one) "How nice to see you again."

"Cut the crap, Diaspro!" snapped Stella, "Where did you take Bloom and Sky!?!!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Diaspro in an innocent tone, "Has something happened to them?"

"Bleach-haired girl lie!!" snapped Shampoo, "She know!!"

"First you try to get Sky and Bloom to break up," said Kodatchi, her rage barely under control, "Then you kidnap them. Diaspro, you're a piece of sh$t!"

"How dare you say such things to one of Eraklyon's royal elite!!" spat Diaspro.

"Lady," said Steve, "You could be 'Bat Girl©' for all I care. You're still coming with us."

"I think not," said Diaspro.

"Wanna bet?" asked Stella, before knocking out Diaspro with a concentrated blast of light.

"So the fools have taken the bait," said the real Diaspro, while Bloom watched Stella and her group carried the unconscious doppelganger back to _The Night Rider_, "As I predicted they would."

"You shouldn't underestimate my friends," said Bloom, "They'll figure out your game soon enough."

"Perhaps," said Diaspro, "But not soon enough to save you." She then laughed her insane giggle.

The end of chapter 6. Next chapter our heroes back at Alfea attempt to wrench out of the false Diaspro what happened to Bloom and Sky. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!


	7. Chapter 7: Interrogations

Last time Stella and several of our heroes headed back to Eraklyon to seize Diaspro, and hopefully, find out what happened to Bloom and Sky. The two abducted ones were taken to a mysterious compound, with an energy field that negated Bloom's powers, where Diaspro separated Bloom from Sky. Sky was then given twelve hours to locate Bloom. Should he fail, Bloom would die. Apparently this is all so Diaspro could enjoy Sky's suffering. Back on Eraklyon, Stella and her strike team captured Diaspro, not realizing that what they captured wasn't the real Diaspro. On with the show!

Chapter 7: Interrogations

Back at Alfea Musa received a text message from Stella, saying that she and her group had captured Diaspro, and were on their way back from Eraklyon. It didn't take long for Musa to spread the good news.

"Excellent," said Jill, "I want to look this Diaspro in the eye and ask her 'what gives you the right to interfere with true love?'"

"I always figured she wasn't right in the head," said Riven, "But this is beyond anything I thought Diaspro could do."

"You'd be surprised how low some people can sink," said Andrew, "Especially those with twisted souls. From what I heard, this Diaspro isn't exactly what can be called a 'nice person.'"

"Well 'nice person' or not," said Fay as she polished the blade of one of her knives, "When she gets here, she'd better tell us what she did with Bloom and Sky, or else."

"Or else what?" asked Musa.

"Or else Diaspro is going to find out how nasty we Ramblers can be," answered Fay.

"You mean torture her?!" asked a shocked Flora, "You can't do that! I mean, I know we're all upset at what happened, but that's no reason to inflict pain, just to get some answers. That's just, well, evil."

"Flora," said Laura, "Sometimes, when one has a job to do, one must do things one would later regret, in order to get the job done. If it comes to torture, if the end result is the safe return of Bloom and Sky, then so be it."

"You might not want to resort to torture so quickly," said Elise as she typed on her laptop, "There are alternatives to inflicting pain."

"This coming from a witch," said Julie in a disapproving tine.

"Not all witches revel in the proliferation of pain and misery," said Elise in a cold, serious tone, "I for one prefer to use my powers, along with my knowledge of science to help those in need. I admit that there are days when I'm in such a bad mood that I just want to destroy everything around me, that I want to shout 'F#ck everyone in the universe till they die!!' But I've had fewer and fewer of such days since I've made the acquaintanceship of Bloom, which is why I'm more than willing to help find her and Sky."

"Well then," said Fay, "In that case, we'll keep torture as a last resort. But what do you propose we do to get Diaspro to talk? I'm open to suggestions."

"That's what I hope to accomplish," said Elise, as she continued typing, "I am currently researching into the life of Diaspro, her past and present activities. Hopefully I'll discover something about her that can be used as leverage should she prove uncooperative."

On the other side of the room Virgil and Carmen were in a more lighthearted conversation. "So you're also from Sparkx?" asked Virgil, "I was under the impression that Bloom was the last one."

"We all believed that Bloom was the last of her people," said Carmen, "That is, until a few months ago when we learned that there were a handful of survivors, myself included. 100 children and at least a dozen adults managed to escape the planet before Sparkx was locked into a cursed ice age. I was barely a year old at the time, so I have no memories of my birth planet, or of my family. But it doesn't bother me that much, I've always been a bit of a loner, until I met Morgan and Elise that is, but that's a whole other story."

"If there were over a hundred survivors," said Violet, who was listening on the conversation, "Why haven't they been found yet?"

"Well, for starters," said Carmen, "it's a big galaxy. The survivors were scattered throughout the stars for their safety. But before the scattering, a spell was placed on us so that we could eventually find each other. Right now only two of the 100 children have been found; myself and Jake Avatar, also known as The Phantom Renegade."

"Sounds like a cheep super hero," said Virgil.

"You wouldn't say that if Jake was here," said Carmen, "He was six when he saw Sparkx cursed. He swore to avenge his people and home world. Eventually he assumed the identity of a vigilantly, gaining fantastic physical powers in the process. Jake helped us defeat The Shadow Riders, then took off to search for other survivors of Sparkx. We hear from him every few days, but so far he's found no other survivors yet."

Just then Elise's computer beep as it' finished it's search. "Well, that's interesting," said Elise, "Very interesting indeed."

"What?" asked Tecna eagerly, "What did you find on Diaspro?"

"As I said," said Elise, "Interesting. I'll display it." A large 3-D holographic image of her findings appeared above her computer so that everyone could see the data gathered.

"Diaspro can trace her family lineage back to the original human settlers to live on Eraklyon," said Elise as she pointed out a large family tree image, "Over the centuries since the founding of the kingdom, Diaspro's family has become one of the most powerful royals on the planet, second only to Sky's family.

"Originally she had four older siblings; two boys and two girls of different ages. When Diaspro was six, she witnessed the murders of her siblings. Someone planted a bomb in the family's private space yacht. Diaspro and her parents survived with minor wounds, but the girl's siblings were killed."

Elise then pointed out a news photo of a six year old Diaspro, starring at the wreckage of a bombed spaceship.

"Damn," said Riven, "That must have really messed her up."

"Indeed," said Elise, "After the funerals, Diaspro spent the next four years in intense psycho-therapy. Her medical records said that before the deaths of her brothers and sisters, she already showed signs of being a sociopath, border lining on psychosis. The deaths of her siblings sent Diaspro over the edge. She would have alternating bouts of rage and depression."

"How did you get this information?" asked Tyler.

"There is no information that cannot be discovered," said Elise, "Once you know where to look."

"Once a hacker, always a hacker," said Timmy.

"Speak for yourself," said Elise, "I remember hearing that you broke the encryption of several classified mainframes, but that's not important right now. Moving on, Diaspro went through several seasons of shock therapy and other, painful treatments before finally, at age, 11, she was placed on anti-psychotic medication, and has been living a normal, if more than somewhat selfish life ever since."

"What are the odds that she's no longer popping her pills?" asked Musa.

"I'm more worried about how long she's been off her medication," said Tenchi.

"Probably since Sky dumped her," said Morgan.

"This is all fascinating," said Fay, "But it really doesn't tell us anything useful. It just confirms that she's f#ck$ng crazy."

"What about Diaspro's personal life?" asked Tecna, "Surely she has more than one skeleton in her closet."

"That might be a problem," said Elise, "There's very little on her personal life. Apart from being a selfish brat, Diaspro has kept mostly to herself outside of Royal social events. There's nothing on her hobbies, what fashion trends she follows, who she dated before her short-lived engagement to Sky, nothing."

'There's always something," said Andrew, "if she's royalty, then she's spent money, it's a fact of life."

"True," said Flora, thinking on how much money Stella as spent on clothing and accessories, not to mention what she spent on her hair.

"Try looking into her financial records," said Carmen, "And look at her travel records as well. Maybe she's gone somewhere she doesn't want the universe at large to know about."

"It'll take a while to hack into Diaspro's financial reports," said Elise, "Those accounts have tighter security than the grip of a Arcadium Swamp Squid. As for where she's gone, nothing embarrassing. But there was one place she's gone that, while not incriminating, it is weird. Since she started her medication and calmed down enough to be in public and not get in trouble, Diaspro has made several trips to Bandelon, the primary planet of the Tleiaxu."

"That is weird," said Timmy, "The Tleiaxu rarely allow outsiders onto their primary world. What makes her so special to them?"

"Most likely a common interest," said Elise, "Diaspro's library records show that she's read a lot of books and researched a lot on the subjects of DNA and genetic manipulation. The Tleiaxu are said to be the best when it comes to genetic engineering."

"Now why would she be interested in that?" asked Flora.

"Who knows," said Carmen, "But one thing's for certain; we're gonna find out where Diaspro took Bloom and Sky, one way or another."

Just then Musa received another text message from Stella, "They're back."

Displaying his piloting prowess, Beauregard landed _The Night Rider _outside the Alfea campus. "Thanks again, Beauregard," said Stella as her group exited the ship, with Steve carrying the unconscious Diaspro like a potato sack over his shoulder, "You too, Lucinda."

"Any time, cousin," said Lucinda.

"What about us?" asked Amanda, with Ryoga nodding in agreement.

"You too also," answered Stella.

"You need us to take you crazy kids anywhere else today?" asked Beauregard.

"Not right now," answered Brandon, "But keep the motor running, just in case."

"What do you think?" asked Michael as they headed across the campus, "You really think Diaspro knows where Bloom and Sky are?"

"If bleached-haired bimbo does know," said Shampoo, "Then she in world of sh$t."

"I just realized something," said Kodatchi, "Isn't is weird that not only did we get away with kidnapping Sky, when we thought he was guilty of cheating on Bloom, we also got away with kidnapping Diaspro. Forgive me if I sound hardheaded, but this looks all too easy,"

"You're right," said Brandon, "usually by now the hammer would have come down on us."

"I hate to say it," said Stella, "But the hammer just dropped."

Indeed it did, for Griselda was heading towards them, an angry look on the assistant Headmistress's face. "Stella!" demanded Griselda, "What is the meaning of this!? Who are these people you brought from a parallel Earth!? And why, pray tell, have you kidnapped two people today!?!"

"Um," said a nervous Stella, "Well, it's kind of a funny story. You see…"

"Let me handle this," said Steve in a confident tone. He walked over to Griselda and introduced himself, "Steven W. Austin, Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, at your services. What happened here is that Stella asked my team and I to clear up a matter between Bloom and Sky…" He then explained the situation to Griselda; how they had discovered that Diaspro implanted false memories in Bloom and Sky and that they were kidnapped. He spoke smoothly and calmly, not giving Griselda a chance to respond.

"All the evidence points at Diaspro," he said, "So we're gonna handle this nice and quiet, so as not to attract any unwanted attention, you get my drift? I knew you'd understand. Let's go, people; we've a spoiled brat to question."

"That was incredible," said Brandon as they left a stunned looking Griselda standing in the courtyard.

"I've never seen anyone talk that way to old Grizzly and get away with it," said Stella.

"When you've got it," said Steve smugly, "You've got it."

In anticipation of Diaspro's arrival, Tecna had set up one of the empty dorm rooms for interrogation, per Max and Jill's instructions. The unconscious Diaspro was placed and handcuffed to a metal chair. Several more chairs sat opposite Diaspro across a table.

"So," said Andrew, "Who wants to go first with this?"

"I'll do it," said Jill, "Aaron, be so kind as to revive our guest. Virgil," she spoke into an earpiece, "are you receiving me?"

"Loud and crystal clear," responded Virgil. He and Violet had installed a video camera in the interrogation room, with the receiving TV set and VCR in the girl's dorm. Everyone was watching as Aaron waved a bottle of smelling salts under Diaspro's nose, bringing her around within seconds.

She groaned as she woke up. "Good morning," said Jill with a disarming smile.

Diaspro looked at Jill, her eyes unfocused, "Who the hell are you?" she asked in a groggy tone.

Jill smiled as she answered, "I'm Captain Jillian Sparrow Carpenter, but you can call me Jill. You, Diaspro, are in a lot of trouble."

It was then that Diaspro realized the full extent of her situation, or at least that she was handcuffed to a chair. Now normally this would cause someone to panic, but Diaspro remained calm. "No, Captain Carpenter," she said in a cold, calculating tone, "It is you whom are in a lot of trouble. When my lawyers hear of this transgression, they'll…"

"I'd thought it would be best if we kept the law out of this," said Andrew, "No reason to drag a personal matter to court. So make it easy for all of us, Diaspro, and tell us where you took Bloom and Sky. And don't bother denying it, because we all know you're responsible for their abduction."

"I guess there's no point arguing then," said Diaspro, still calm, still coldly, "I am guilty. I did arrange for the abduction of Sky and his pathetic Earth fairy, but I won't say where they are."

"Well you should tell us," said Jill, "It would make things so much easier. Once they're safely back on Magicx, we can all go back to our lives and pretend this whole mess never happened."

"I don't think so," said Diaspro, "You see, this is my revenge on Sky for what he did to me. He rejected me, for a no-talent, scraggly Earth girl who just happened to have some magical powers, and he rejected me for her. I want him to suffer like he's never suffered before."

"Your assessment of Bloom is rather poor," said Max, "She happens to be one of the most powerful magical beings I've ever encountered. She possesses courage beyond measure. I could go on listing her qualities, but time is of the essence. I value her as a friend, but most of all, I respect her, and so should you."

"Respect?" asked Diaspro, "She should have respected my rights, my claim to Sky as his fiancée. She should have kept her nose out of my business."

"Your lack of respect for your peers is disgraceful," said Jill, "Sky is one of the bravest individuals I know. He would gladly sacrifice himself to save the ones he cares for. But enough of that; you are going to tell us where you took Bloom and Sky."

"No, I won't," said Diaspro.

"You're being most unwise, young lady," said Andrew, "There are ways to make fools like yourself talk."

"Like what?" asked Diaspro, "Are you going to poke me with cattle-prods? Stick bamboo shards underneath my fingernails? Jab me with red-hot iron? Go ahead, do your worst!"

"If we were to do our worst," said Max, "you wouldn't live to talk. No, I think we'll do our third worst, or is it our forth? It doesn't matter, you're going to spill the beans soon enough."

Michael then came in with a complex looking helmet. He forced it onto Diaspro's head, making sure her ears and eyes were completely covered. Max then flicked a toggle on the helmet. Diaspro then tensed as her ears were flooded with incomprehensible noise.

"What's that doing?" asked Flora.

"Sensory deprivation," said Violet, "Humans beings rely mostly on sight and sound. Without visual input, and with the ears flooded with constant white noise the mind can become unbalanced."

"So we're trying to drive Diaspro even more crazy?" asked Stella.

"Not really," said Shawn, "You see, without sight and sound, the first thing to go is your sense of time. A few minutes can seem like hours. Trust me, in twenty minutes, Diaspro will be begging to talk."

Unfortunately, Shawn couldn't be far from wrong. Back in the interrogation room, Diaspro was snoring. "She's asleep!" exclaimed Jill, "We deprive her of sight and drown her in white noise, and she falls asleep. What is she, a parrot!?"

"I'm afraid this is going to be a long interrogation," said Max, while Jill slapped Diaspro awake, "I knew I should have stayed in bed today."

"Amen, my friend," agreed Andrew.

Meanwhile…

Bloom sat in horror as she was forced to watch Sky crawl his way through several rooms full of various poisonous critters; snakes, spiders, scorpions, jellyfish, bees, and many more venomous animals she never saw before.

"Interesting," said the disembodied voice of Diaspro, "Most people would be running away as fast as they can before even thinking about crossing a room full of bees, let alone other toxic animals. Sky must truly care about you, Bloom, to be so full of courage. It's pathetic."

"I'd do the same thing for him," said Bloom, "And so would Stella and Brandon, and all of my friends. It's you who is pathetic, Diaspro."

Just then something happened to make Bloom's eyes widen in shock even further; Sky was bitten by a particularly deadly viper. Yet her fears were soon put aside. One of the first things Sky learned at Red Fountain was how to treat poisoned wounds. From an emergency First-Aid kit in his belt pouch, he produced a vial of all-purpose anti-venom. Injecting himself with the serum, he soon had the poison neutralized, the bite cleaned and bandaged.

"Poor Diaspro," said Bloom in a mocking tone as Sky continued on, "You underestimated Sky again." She watched as Sky entered a large set of corridors that turned out to be a maze

Diaspro growled in rage, "You think so, wouldn't you, Bloom!? Well, let's test Sky's resolve even further. Let's see how he likes navigating in the dark!!"

As Sky approached the first turn in the maze, the lights went out, plunging him into darkness.

"No!!" shouted Bloom, "Diaspro, you bitch!!!"

"Temper, temper," taunted Diaspro, "Such language is unbecoming of you, Bloom."

"If you're so intent on Sky failing," said Bloom, "Why not just kill me now? Why not kill us both?"

"All in good time, Bloom, all in good time. You and Sky will soon expire, but I want him to suffer even more. And when he can bare it no more, I'll destroy you, that which is most precious to him, right before his eyes." Diaspro then laughed her insane giggle again.

The end of chapter 7. Next chapter, well, you'll just have to read it to believe it. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!


	8. Chapter 8: Outrageous Truth

Last time our heroes on Magicx began their interrogation of Diaspro, unaware that what they had was really a decoy, while the real Diaspro forced Sky through even worse torments, with Bloom helplessly watching. On with the show!

Chapter 8: Outrageous Truth

The interrogation of Diaspro wasn't going well. Both Laura and Shawn attempted to scan her mind, but found that they couldn't penetrate Diaspora's mental defenses. Elise volunteered to hypnotize Diaspro, but all that did was put her to sleep again.

Steve, Michael and Kodatchi threatened to break every bone in Diaspro's body. She didn't even blink at the threat. Fay offered to slice her into little pieces. Again, Diaspro didn't even blink. Tenchi offered to do what he did to her on their last encounter, (see 'Magic and Martial Arts' chapter 28 for the full details). Diaspro simply ignored him.

"This is getting us nowhere," said Morgan, while Jill was talking to Diaspro alone, "It's like Diaspro is made of stone."

"Or at least her heart is," said Flora.

"You couldn't be closer to the truth," said an exasperated Jill as she came out of the interrogation room, "I just talked to her about her siblings deaths. I mentioned that perhaps her madness is due to the fact that she blames herself for what happened, that she feels responsible for her siblings deaths.

"You know what she said? She said that she was glad that they died, that they were out of her way. She is one cold-blooded, egotistical, psychotic bitch."

"And I thought Icy, Darcy and Stormy were heartless," said Stella, "How can anyone stand to be like that?"

"Some people are born bad," said Timmy, "Like Icy and her sisters, it's genetic."

"That's it," said Violet as she tied her hair back in a ribbon, "That's the key to getting to her, genetics."

"What 'choo talking 'bout, Violet?" asked Riven.

"Well, Elise said that Diaspro made several trips to Bandalon," said Violet, "The main planet of the Tleiaxu, and that the Tleiaxu are high-level experts in genetics. It's more than obvious that Diaspro is into genetics."

"Where are you going with this?" asked Brandon.

"If I can engage Diaspro in her favorite subject," said Violet, "Maybe she'll relax enough to let something slip. Maybe I can get her to tell me where she took Bloom and Sky."

"It's worth a shot," said Jill, "But be careful, Violet. It's also obvious that you'll be face to face with a lunatic. Don't let her get to you."

"Never happen," said Violet as she went into the interrogation room.

"She certainly confident," Tecna said to Jill, "You must be very proud of her."

"I am," said Jill, "But there are times when I worry about her."

Violet calmly sat across from Diaspro. She didn't say anything at first, waiting for Diaspro to make the first move. She did, "So what excruciating thing are you going to do to me?" she asked.

"Nothing," answered Violet, "I just want to talk to you."

"About what?" asked Diaspro.

"Oh, a little of this, a little of that," said Violet, "From what I've heard, you've been to the world of the Tleiaxu a lot."

"So what if I have?" asked Diaspro, "Is that a crime now?"

"Not as far as I know," said Violet, "It's just that, you don't strike me as the type of girl who's into genetics."

"And you don't look like a cop to me," said Diaspro.

"I'm not a cop," said Violet, "I'm a Paranormal Investigator. But what I'm first and foremost is an inventor. So there's more to the two of us than what's just on the outside. So tell me, what's so interesting about genetics?"

"The Tleiaxu believe that genetics, that DNA is the language of God," said Diaspro, "I'm not that fanatical about DNA, but the concept that one cell can contain all the information that makes up a living being, it's just fascinating. Now you tell me, what's so fascinating about being an inventor?"

"Ever since I could remember," said Violet, "I always loved making things. Sometimes I would take a machine apart and put it back together as something else. Other times I would take used, discarded objects and make new gadgets. You should have seen some of the crazy stuff I MacGuyvered together."

"I'll bet," said Diaspro.

"They're just talking," said an irate Julie, "Why doesn't Violet get down to business?"

"She is in business mode," said Shawn, "Violet is trying to gain Diaspro's trust. Hopefully she'll let slip something useful, like where she took Bloom and Sky."

Yet nothing happened. For the next half hour Violet and Diaspro traded stories of invention and genetics. The lack of progress wasn't having a positive effect on Julie.

"Enough of this sh$t!" said the hawked-eyed sniper, "I'll make her talk, she'll have no choice." With that she charged into the interrogation room, her left pistol out with the safety off.

"Where are they!?!" Julie demanded as she aimed her gun at Diaspro's head, "Tell me where you took Bloom and Sky! Tell me now!!"

"She's ruining everything!" exclaimed Virgil, "Get her out of there, now!!"

"Tell me where you took them!!" said Julie as she pressed the barrel of her pistol against Diaspro's left temple, "You've got till the count of three. One! Two!!"

Julie never got to 'Three,' for the door burst open and in came Max, Steve, Brandon and Riven, with Morgan watching from behind.

"Get her out of here!!" shouted Max as he and Brandon grabbed hold of Julie's arms, while Steve and Riven grabbed her legs.

"Let go of me!!" exclaimed Julie as she thrashed against her restrainers, "I almost had her talking!! Let go of me now!!!" Just then Morgan grabbed Julie at the base of her neck and applied pressure, knocking her out.

"Nice trick," said Steve as they carried the unconscious Julie out of the room. Max then sent Laura and Shawn in to keep watch on Diaspro.

Julie woke up a few minutes later with an angry Max standing over her. "What the f#ck$ng-hell were you thinking!!?!!!" he demanded, "Violet was making progress in there, and you blew it!!!"

"So what!?" asked Julie, "It's a waste of time making conversation with that piece of sh$t Diaspro!"

"You still didn't answer my question," said Max, "What the f#ck$ng-hell were you thinking!?"

"That sack of pig vomit, Diaspro," said Julie, her voice betraying her emotions, her eyes brimming over with tears, "She used my image to cause emotional pain. I cannot forgive that! I can never forgive that!! She deserves to die!!!"

"It's okay, Julie," said Fay, trying to calm her down.

"It's not okay!" moaned Julie, "She used my face to hurt others, my face! Yet she had the impudence to doctor it up so it would look attractive! I mean look at me, look at my eyes! my scar! I'm ugly!!"

"No you're not!" said Fay, "Don't ever think that way about yourself. That scar was an accident from the past, but you wear it to remind yourself to be careful. As for your eyes, I think they're the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen."

"Really?" asked Julie.

"Would I lie to you?" asked Fay.

Julie didn't answer with words. Instead, she embraced Fay and kissed her on the lips. Fay kissed back eagerly.

"Whoa!!" exclaimed Michael, "No offence there, I am happy that you two realized your feelings for each other. But if you're going to do that, do it on your own time! Like Max always says, the mission comes first."

"He's right," said Fay, "We'll finish this later."

"Yes," said Julie, "Later."

"That solves that crisis," said Stella, "But we still don't know where Bloom and Sky are."

"Diaspro knows," said Carmen, "We're just not using the right methods."

"Well what do you suggest?" asked Morgan, "'Cause I've got nothing."

"If we were back at The Bureau," said Aaron, "I could whip up a truth serum in no time."

"A truth drug?" asked Flora, "You think that would work?"

"It might just do so," said Aaron, "If I had the right chemicals to work with."

"Tell me what you need," said Elise, "And I'll 'borrow' the ingredients form the potions lab back at Cloud Tower."

"If you could have made up a truth drug," said Tyler as Aaron made the ingredient list for Elise, "Why didn't you offer to do it before?"

"Nobody asked me to," said Aaron.

"Well you should have suggested it before," said Andrew as he checked his watch for the seventh time within ten minutes, "Every second that passes diminishes our chances of finding Bloom and Sky in time."

Fifteen minutes later Elise returned with the requested chemicals. Aaron soon had a vial of his concoction ready. He, Jill, Andrew, Denise and Steve went into the interrogation room.

"Okay, Diaspro," said Jill, "You've beaten around the bush long enough. We're going to get some answers out of you whether you want to talk or not." Quick as lightning Steve and Denise grabbed Diaspro by the arms and held her to the chair.

"Let go of me you barbarian ignoramuses!" she exclaimed.

"I may not be the smartest apple in the barrel," said Steve, "But I'm not retarded."

"And we're certainly not barbarians," said Denise.

"I don't care!" snapped Diaspro, "Just let me go!!"

"They'll let you go," said Aaron as he took out a syringe and filled it with the truth serum, "Just as soon as you've taken your medicine."

"You can't do that to me!" exclaimed Diaspro, "You can't drug me! My lawyers will have your heads on a silver platter!!"

"I thought we made it clear that no lawyers will be involved in this," said Andrew, "Aaron, do that voodoo that you do so well."

"Gladly," said Aaron. He held the needle upright and tapped it as to get all the air out. He then tied some rubber tubing to Diaspro's arm, slapped the arm to get a vein to show and injected her with the truth drug.

"In less than two minutes," said Aaron as he removed the needle and tubing from Diaspro's arm, "You will have no choice but to tell us where you've taken Bloom and Sky."

"Never!" said Diaspro, "It'll be a cold day in Hell before I tell you mutant scum anything!!"

"Call us that one more time," said Steve, "And I'll take you apart, one bone at a time!"

"Relax, Steve," said Jill, "We'll just wait about 90 seconds, then we'll see how cocky the little princess is."

"You think I'll talk that easily?" asked Diaspro, "Well let me just ask you something, Captain Jill Sparrow Carpenter of The Ramblers," she then paused. The drug was apparently beginning to take hold, for she suddenly sat straight up, her pupils dilating, "Are you interested in frolicking in a leafy glade?"

"I beg your pardon?" asked a confused Jill.

"Yeah, I saw a yard gnome once," said Diaspro in an all too happy tone, "It didn't scare me!"

"What the f#ck are you saying, girl?" asked Denise

"My mantis looks dashing in a tux," said Diaspro, a huge goofy grin on her face, "Would you please pass me one of those wall decorations!? My, they look lovely!"

"What the hell was that you give her?!" asked Andrew.

"Just a truth serum," said Aaron, "This shouldn't be happening to her."

"Well it is," said Andrew, while Diaspro babbled something about fish dramas, "Maybe you got the formula wrong or something."

"I am the lizard queen!!" shouted Diaspro, "I can do anything!!" 

"Is there anyone in there, Diaspro?" asked Jill, "Or have the worms already eaten into your brains?"

At that point Diaspro was talking so fast that no one could understand what she was saying. Even if she slowed down the interrogators doubted they could understand what Diaspro was saying.

"This is way messed up," said Brandon, "We're trying to get her to talk, not make her lose her mind."

"Who said she had a mind in the first place?" asked Morgan

"At this rate we'll never find Bloom and Sky," said Stella, "I don't think this day could get any worse."

"I think it just did," said a disgusted Michael, for Diaspro was apparently melting into a puddle of goo.

"Oh gross!!" exclaimed Musa.

"I think I'm going to be sick!" said Flora.

"What the f#ck?!" exclaimed Steve.

Within seconds Diaspro had completely dissolved into a large, flesh colored puddle. All that was left was her clothes and her jewelry.

"I think I know what just happened," said Elise, "I think we've been dealing with a Tleiaxian Clone all along."

"A what?" asked Steve.

"A Tleiaxian Clone," said Tecna, "Diaspro must have made a copy of herself and subtitled herself for that copy."

"Well if that thing was a clone," said Andrew, pointing at the puddle that was Diaspro, "Then why did it melt like that?"

"I'm not positive," said Elise, "But there have been incidents where clones have been destroyed in similar manners. Remind me, Aaron, what exactly was in that truth serum?"

"It was of my own formula," said Aaron. He, Elise, Timmy and Tecna went over the list for the serum.

"I see at least two chemicals that have been proven fatal to clones," said Tecna.

"Why did it start babbling nonsense?" asked Musa.

"The fist thing to destabilize in a Clone," said Timmy, "Is its speech processors in the brain."

"Well this is just great," said Brandon, "Now we're back to square one."

"Square zero is more like it," said Timmy, "We're no closer to finding Bloom and Sky than we were before we decided to kidnap Diaspro."

"Don't count your sligs before they hatch, Timmy," said Elise as she checked her laptop, "I've just compiled Diaspro's financial data for the past two years. Apparently she transferred a large sum of money to a discrete Tleiaxu account several weeks ago."

"Clones are not cheep," said Tecna, "And the Tleiaxu aren't well liked. It isn't surprising that Diaspro would use back channels to purchase her clone."

"There's more," said Elise, "She also purchased a moderate sized manor on the 4th moon of Eraklyon. The house is connected to a large underground system of catacombs. She had the tunnels renovated, and installed various equipment in said tunnels."

"If that isn't where she took Bloom and Sky," said Steve, "I'll eat my power-pole."

"That's going to hurt," said Morgan.

"Then what are we still doing here?!" asked Stella, "Let's go!!"

The end of chapter 8. Next chapter our heroes head to Diaspro's lair to save Bloom and Sky. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!


	9. Chapter 9:Concerning Devine Intervention

Last time our heroes back at Alfea attempted to get Diaspro to tell them where she took Bloom and Sky, but to no avail. Violet tried to sweet talk the spoiled brat, also to no avail. Aaron attempted a truth serum. The result was nothing anyone expected. Our heroes had been dealing with a clone all the time. Elise tracked Diaspro's financial records to Eraklyon's 4th moon. On with the show!

Chapter 9: Concerning Devine Intervention

"Your boyfriend is more tenacious than I thought," said the disembodied voice of Diaspro, "He's nearly through my dark labyrinth."

"Sky is more than tenacious," said Bloom, "He's courageous, selfless and above all, in love; and he'll stop at nothing to save me. You're as good as dead, that is, if I don't kill you first."

"You are so naïve," said Diaspro, "Neither of you will be alive much longer. Oh look, our friend Sky is nearly at the exit. And I thought he was having fun in my maze. Let's give him a bit more to enjoy." Bloom could only watch as the walls of the maze shifted, forcing Sky away from the exit.

"You goat-sucking whore!!" shouted Bloom, "As soon as my Winx comes back, I'll roast you alive!!"

"How quickly the Earth fairy forgets," said Diaspro, "You Winx has been nullified by an energy field. It won't come back until I deactivate the field, which I won't do until you are dead. Now, let's take a look to see how your pathetic friends are dealing with my double."

The view of Sky in the maze shifted back to Alfea. Yet it showed only an empty room. "What's this?" asked Diaspro, "Where are they?" The view zoomed in to review a flesh colored stain on the floor of the interrogation room."

"Looks like your double had an accident," said Bloom.

"Impossible!!" raged Diaspro, "They assured me that it would last for at least several days!!! Tleiaxian scum!!!"

The view shifted again, showing a rapid view of Alfea, followed by downtown Magicx. It was as if Diaspro was searching for something. Finally the view settled on the space port, showing Stella, Brandon, Max, Jill, Andrew and the others boarding The Night Rider. Bloom could hear from the image Stella talking to her cousins, "The 4th moon of Eraklyon, Amanda, and step on it!!"

"NO!!!" raged Diaspro, "How could they have found me!?!!!"

"I can only guess that you didn't cover you tracks very well," said Bloom.

There was nothing from Diaspro for a few minutes, like she was trying to collect her insane self. "This is an unexpected turn of events, yes," she said, "However, your friends will arrive too late."

The view shifted back to Sky again. Suddenly, the lights came back on in the maze and the tunnels shifted to a straight path. "I'm afraid we're going to have to end our game sooner than I'd like, Bloom," said Diaspro, "Sky will find you, and you're gonna die right before his eyes."

"Never!" said Bloom.

"Oh yes," said Diaspro, "And just to be safe, I'm currently summoning my private security force to deal with your friends, should they arrive before the game ends."

Meanwhile…

"We'll reach the fourth moon of Eraklyon in less than fifteen minutes," said Beauregard as _The Night Rider_ cruised through hyperspace, "is that fast enough for you, Stella?"

"That's perfect," said Stella, "Oh that bitch Diaspro is so gonna get it! She's gonna regret ever meeting Bloom and Sky!"

"I think you're working yourself up a bit too much," said Brandon, "You're gonna stress out."

"I have not yet begun to stress out, snookums," said Stella, "I plan to take my time with Diaspro. I'm gonna gut her like a fish! I'll tear into her like a monkey on a cupcake! I'll bash her brains in so hard her dog will be retarded! if she has a dog."

"Eager one, isn't she," said Andrew.

"You don't know the half of it," responded Layla.

Meanwhile the Ramblers were checking their weapons for the up-coming rescue: Fay was sharpening her knives while Jill sharpened her cutlass; Julie, Max, Andrew, Steve, Sally-Ann and Alec were cleaning their guns, Tyler was doing routine maintenance on his vest while Michael was cleaning the inner workings of his energy swords. Shampoo, Kodatchi and Tenchi were reading their weapons as well. Aaron was trying his best not to throw up, while Virgil, Violet, Shawn and Laura were given the grand tour of The Night Rider by Amanda and Ryoga.

"You've been awfully quiet during this whole fiasco," said Julie to Sally-Ann, "Usually you'd be squawking like a chicken. Anything wrong at home?"

"None of your damn business," said Sally-Ann without looking up from her guns.

"Well something's bugging you," said Musa, "I can tell from your voice you're thinking about something that happened to you."

"True," said Sally-Ann, "I recently had a profound experience, one that I can't seem to stop thinking about."

"Want to talk about it?" asked Michael, "It might help you sort out whatever happened to you."

Sally-Ann sighed and raised her eyes from her guns, "Well, if you must know. Okay, three days ago myself and a few other bounty hunters were about to take down a gang of bank robbers. These were high profile criminals, not your average lowlife scum who try to stick up a bank with just a pistol and a money sack. No, these were professionals; all armed with fully automatic assault rifles. It was a dangerous job, but the reward made it all worth it; $1,500,000 dead or alive."

"What happened?" asked Riven.

"We tracked them to their hideout," said Sally-Ann, "Busted in and took them by surprise. We captured the whole gang without firing a shot, all but one. There was one guy in the bathroom during the capture. He busted out of the bathroom, armed with AK-47 that had a 100-round barrel magazine, aimed at me and pulled the trigger."

"Good gracious!" said Flora, "How did you survive?"

"That's the thing that's bugging me," said Sally-Ann, "I shouldn't have survived. This guy was standing less than fifteen feet away from where I was standing and unloaded that AK-47 on me. He shot 100 rounds of high-velocity, armor-piercing bullets at me, yet I didn't get a scratch. The bullets seemed to just pass through me.

"When the gun clicked empty I was in a state of shock. I turned around and saw the wall I was standing in front of had 100 bullet holes in it. I turned back and saw that the gunman was also in shock. I snapped back to reality and shot him in the head. Throughout the rest of the day and the day after I kept reliving the event. One thought kept running through my mind, _'I shouldn't be alive,'_ over and over again."

"So you got lucky," said Julie, "it happens to everyone."

"It wasn't luck, Julie," said Sally-Ann, "I told you, that guy was less than fifteen feet from me, point-blank range for a AK-47. You don't miss at that range unless you're not aiming properly, and he was aiming straight for my heart. No, it wasn't luck."

"So what do you think it was?" asked Michael.

"Well," said Sally-Ann, "It was just before The Bureau called me in on this little escapade, that I came to the conclusion that the only reason why I'm still alive, was due to divine intervention."

"Divine intervention," repeated Stella.

"You're saying that you believe that God came down from heaven and stopped the bullets from hurting you?" asked Brandon.

"That's exactly what I believe," said Sally-Ann, "God came down from heaven and stopped the bullets from hurting me. Don't ask me why God would do that, but I'm sure God has a reason."

"I wouldn't go as far as saying that it was divine intervention," said Fay, "I mean, I've heard about people who end up in dangerous situations where there should be no chance of survival, yet they emerge perfectly fine. It's strange but it happens."

"Well this kind of sh$t doesn't just happen to me," said Sally-Ann, "I'm saying what happened to me was a miracle, and I want you to acknowledge it as such."

"Well I wasn't there," said Fay, "So you'll have a hard time convincing me."

"Don't listen to her," said Flora, "You believe you experienced a miracle, and I believe that you believe."

"Thanks," said Sally-Ann.

"Okay," said Michael, "You experience a miraculous event, that we're clear on. My question is 'now what are you going to do?'"

"Well," said Sally-Ann as she finished cleaning her guns, "First thing's first, I'm going to help save Bloom and Sky, while at the same time make sure that Diaspro gets what's coming to her. Then, once we're all home, I'm going to tender my resignation to The Bounty Hunter's Guild of America."

"You planning on going out on your own?" asked Tyler, "Or start your own team?"

"I'm giving up the business completely," said Sally Ann.

"Bull sh$t!" exclaimed Michael, "You can't quit! I mean, leaving The Guild is one thing, but stop being a bounty hunter completely, I mean, what's up with that?"

"I'm serious," said Sally-Ann, "As soon as we're back home I'm resigning from the role of bounty hunter."

"This is f#ck#d up," said Michael, "One doesn't simply give up being a bounty hunter. I didn't quit when I joined The Bureau, and you're not going to quit, all because of some f#ck$ng lucky event."

"I said it wasn't luck," said Sally-Ann, "It was a miracle."

"Fine," said Michael, "Whatever. So, you're quitting The Guild and retiring from the business. Why don't you tell the Guild Masters why you're doing it."

"I'm going to," said Sally-Ann.

"Yeah, and I'll bet that they laugh their collective asses off," said Michael.

"So what are you going to do if you're no longer going to be a bounty hunter?" asked Flora.

"That's what I've been thinking about," said Sally-Ann, "It's obvious that God saved my life for a purpose; what purpose, I don't know yet. But like I said, first thing's first; I'm gonna help save Bloom and Sky. Then I'm gonna make sure that Diaspro gets exactly what's coming to her. After that I'll tend my resignation to the Bounty Hunters Guild. And after that, I'll walk the Earth."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Riven.

"Exactly what it means," said Sally-Ann, "I'll travel the world, go on adventures, meet people, see strange things."

"For how long?" asked Andrew.

"Until I receive a sign that tells me to do otherwise.

"And if you don't receive a sign?" asked Jill.

"If that is my destiny," said Sally-Ann, "Then so be it."

"So you're resigning yourself to be a bum," said Michael.

"What!?" exclaimed Sally-Ann, "No, I'm not gonna be a bum! What the f#ck kind of statement is that!?"

"Well it's what you're planning to become," said Michael, "You're going to be wandering all over the planet with no place of residence, no job, no legal tender, with just the clothes on your back, they have a word for that; a bum, a f#ck$ng bum."

"Well I guess this is where we differ, Michael," said Sally-Ann.

"Look, Sally-Ann," said Michael, "I believe you experienced something weird, even miraculous, but that's no reason to just quit your job and become a bum."

"If my answers frighten you, Michael," said Sally-Ann, "Then you should stop asking scary questions." 

Michael was about to retort, but words failed him. He stood up, "Where's the bathroom on this boat?"

"Down the hall, second door on your left," said Lucinda, "You can't miss it."

Michael was just at the bridge exit when he turned around and said to Sally-Ann, "Let me ask you this; exactly when did you decide all of this? Just now or earlier?"

"Just now," said Sally-Ann, "I was sitting here, cleaning my guns, and replaying the incident over in my mind, when I had what alcoholics call a moment of clarity."

"To be continued," sighed Michael as he left the bridge.

"You Meta-Humans are certainly a strange breed," said Tecna.

"Indeed we are," said Jill.

Shortly after that _The Night Rider_ exited hyperspace around the 4th moon of Eraklyon. Using Elise's data gathered from Diaspro's financial records, our heroes quickly located the house the madwoman had renovated.

They landed outside the house and proceeded towards the building with caution when Stella suddenly tensed. "Something's wrong!" she exclaimed, "I can't feel my Winx!!"

"Me neither!" said Flora.

"Same here," said Musa and Layla.

"It's as if there's something in the air that has nullified our powers," said Tecna.

"Our powers are being affected as well," said Carmen, "I'm barely at half strength."

"I'm down to a third of my normal energy," said Elise.

"I don't know how much of my power I have left," said Morgan, "But it's pretty low."

"The house and the surrounding area has been covered by an energy field of some sort," said Virgil as he scanned the area with his PDA, "One that nullifies magical energy, especially the positive energy of fairies."

"Can you counter it?" asked Tecna.

"Not completely," said Virgil, "I'd need to be at the source of the nullification energy. Of course I could always turn it off at the source. What I can do is project a second energy field that would cancel out the first. It wouldn't be a strong field, only a radius of 80 meters, maybe a bit more."

"How long will it take you to set us the counter field?" asked Jill.

"Just as soon as I isolate the exact energy frequency of the nullification field," said Virgil as he continued scanning, "Twenty minutes; thirty tops."

"Bloom and Sky may not have thirty minutes," said Brandon, "We need to find them now!"

"Okay! New plan, people," said Max, "All smart people are to help Virgil set up the counter field. All those whose powers are affect are to remain behind. Everyone else, we're going in."

"Does thou have any idea where we are going?" asked Tatewaki.

"Inside for starters," said Andrew.

Leaving Stella, Layla, Flora, Musa, Carmen and Morgan behind with Elise, Tecna, and Timmy to help Virgil and Violet, Max, Brandon and the others entered the house. They did not receive a warm welcome

At least 30 masked men, all armed with high-powered plasma rifles, started basting at the would-be rescuers. Max and the others dove for cover behind various pieces of furniture.

"I think we've found the right place!!" shouted Steve.

"Gee, how can you tell?!!" Riven asked sarcastically.

Max and the other Ramblers with guns then began shooting back. They provided cover while Brandon, Riven, Helia and Tatewaki attacked with heir weapons. Within minutes the mercenaries were all either dead or unconscious.

"There's a trapdoor here, somewhere," said Brandon as he used a scanner he borrowed from Timmy, "It leads to a large, underground complex."

"Is this what you're looking for?" asked Julie as he basted the lock off a trapdoor that was hidden underneath a rug. Kicking the horizontal door open, they proceeded down into Diaspro's mad complex.

The end of chapter 9. Will our heroes reach Bloom and Sky before it's too late? Find out in the next chapter. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!


	10. Chapter 10: All or Nothing

Last time our heroes raced to the 4th moon of Eraklyon to rescue Bloom and Sky from the mad clutches of Diaspro. The lunatic was ready for the rescuers, but her defenses were below average when compared to Max and The Ramblers. But will they reach Bloom and Sky before it is too late? On with the show!

Chapter 10: All or Nothing

"Impossible!!!" raged Diaspro, "How could they have defeated my mercenaries so quickly!?!!!"

"You underestimated Max and his team again, Diaspro," said Bloom, "People like them are hard to kill."

"That maybe so," said Diaspro, "But I assure you, Bloom, your freakish Earth friends won't see you alive again."

Back outside Virgil was hard at work isolating the energy frequency of the field that was disrupting the girls' powers. "Just give me another minute," he said, typing madly away at his laptop, "And I'll have your powers back to normal… Oh sh$t!!"

"What?" asked Musa.

"The nullification field is on a rotating frequency," said Tecna as she checked her PDA, "Every time we get close to isolating it, it changes. I'm afraid the only way we'll be able to use our powers here is to deactivate the field generator at its source."

"And Diaspro is in control of the source," said Elise, "Or my name is Francine, and it's not."

"Jill," said Violet into her com-link, "We can't deactivate the energy field. Looks like you're on our own for now."

"Not surprising," said Jill into her com-link. She then informed the others of the situation back on top.

"I should have known it wouldn't have been that easy," said Andrew.

"Wait a minute," said Tyler, "My armor."

"What about it?" asked Riven.

"My battle-suit projects a force-shield," said Tyler, "If Virgil can match the rotation speed of the nullification field, I can send a feedback pulse, overloading the source."

"Did you hear that, Virgil?" asked Max into his com-link.

"Loud and clear," said Virgil, "Just wait right there, I'll be down there as soon as I can."

Max, Brandon and the others waited for Virgil and the others back up to as precious minutes ticked by. Eventually Virgil, Tecna and the others caught up.

"How long is this going to take?" asked Stella anxiously.

"As long as has to," said Elise in a slightly annoyed tone, "So just shut up and let us brains do our work."

"Better work fast," said Laura in a grave tone, "I've just had this feeling that Bloom is in mortal danger, even worse than before."

"Then work faster!" said Carmen, "With my full powers, I can sense where Bloom is."

"In that case," said Tecna, she made a few quick adjustments to Tyler's battle-suit vest, "All done."

"She's good," said an impressed Shawn.

"Stand back," said Tyler as he activated his suit, the white armor unfolding from his vest, "I'm about to initiate the pulse." There was a growing whine of energy from the suit, followed by a bright flash.

"It worked!!" exclaimed Stella as she, Flora, Musa, Layla and Tecna transformed into their Winx outfits.

"Of course it worked," said Morgan. She sighed in satisfaction as her powers recharged.

"I can sense where Bloom is!" said Carmen, "She's 200 meters in that direction!!" she pointed towards the left-hand wall of the corridor they were in.

"Stand back!" said Ryoga, "I'll have us through that wall in no time!"

"Uh, Ryoga," said Brandon, "It's the other wall."

"Oh," said Ryoga, "My bad." He stood in front of the correct wall, his left index finger aiming at the walls' weak spot, _"Baksuai Tenketsu!!!"_ He jabbed his finger at the wall, shattering a 20-foot wide hole in it.

"Oh great!" said Riven, "Another hallway."

"Then I'll bust through this one as well!" said Ryoga, "And the next one, and the next one, until we reach Bloom. _Baksuai Tenketsu!!!"_

"Hang on a second," said Virgil, "I'm picking up something. I've locked in on the location of the source of the nullification field. In fact, it's the central point for the whole complex. Everything is tied into this one room."

"I'll bet that's where Diaspro is," said Riven.

"Which way?" asked Sally-Ann.

"Just go down this corridor," said Tecna as she checked her scanners, "The central control room is 380 meters away."

"Leave Diaspro to me," said Sally-Ann, "I'll catch her, it's what I do best." She then hurried down the corridor, while Ryoga blasted a hole into the next hallway.

Meanwhile Bloom had no idea that her powers were restored. She was so intent on whatever mad scheme Diaspro had planned for her and Sky.

Just then a door appeared in the room she was in, and there was Sky, looking more than a little worse for wear, but there he was.

"Bloom!!" he shouted. He ran towards her, and she towards him. Yet before they could embrace each other, something separated them, something made of glass.

"Well look at this!" said the mocking voice of Diaspro, "Our brave hero has reached his one true love, only to be separated at the last second. So close, yet so far away."

"What is this, Diaspro!!?!!" exclaimed Sky as he felt along the transparent barrier between him and Bloom, "What trickery is are you up to now?!!" 

"The final move in my little game," said Diaspro, "I did say that you'd watch your beloved Bloom die, so now watch."

Just then more lights came on in the room, revealing that Bloom was trapped in a large, glass enclosure in the shape of cube. The glass was at least 4 inches thick. Metal grates were on the floor inside the cube. Both Bloom and Sky watched in horror as water began filling the cube from the floor.

"You're going to drown me!?" asked Bloom as the water reached above her ankles, "That's your master plan?!"

"Ingenious, isn't it?" mocked Diaspro as the water reached Bloom's knees, "Your beloved prince is going to watch you die, and there's nothing he can do to stop it."

"That'll be the day!!" exclaimed Sky. He began pounding the glass cube with his fists, then ramming it with his shoulder. He didn't even leave a scratch on the glass.

"Go ahead and waste your energy," said Diaspro, "That glass has a spell on it, making it indestructible."

"NO!!" shouted Sky as he kept pounding the glass, "I won't give up!!" he kept hitting at the cube, yet nothing happened. The water was above Bloom's waist now and nearly to her neck.

"Let her go!!" demanded Sky, "I'll do whatever you want, Diaspro! Just let Bloom go!!"

"It's too late for bargaining," said Diaspro, "You had your chance with me and you blew it. Now you shall experience the ultimate in suffering; you're going to watch your one true love die!" She laughed her mad cackle yet again as the water reached above Bloom's head, completely covering her.

Bloom had managed to get a large lungful of air before the cube was completely filled with water, but her lungs were already beginning to burn for more oxygen. Still Sky kept pounding at the glass.

Eventually Bloom could no longer hold her breath, expelling the used air from her body. Water began filling her lungs.

"Let her go!!" shouted Sky again, "Kill me instead!!"

"Oh you're going to die eventually," said Diaspro, "But not before she does."

Suddenly there was a loud noise form outside the room, like part of a wall had collapsed. The noise sounded again, closer this time. Then it sounded again, only first punctuated by the words _"Baksuai Tenketsu!!!"_

The wall of the room collapsed, revealing Max, Stella, Brandon and the others. "Oh no!!" exclaimed Stella as she took in the scene, "We're too late!!"

"The hell we are!!!" shouted Max. He rushed forward to the glass cube. Summoning up all his Meta-Human strength, he pulled back his left arm and punched through the glass, shattering one whole side of the cube. Water gushed out of the tank, carrying Bloom with it.

Max checked her vitals signs as the water cleared. "She's not breathing!!" he shouted, "I can't feel her pulse!!"

Aaron rushed forward to administer CPR, but Shampoo got to Bloom first.

"Bloom no die on Shampoo!!" shouted the purple haired Amazon as she started compressing Bloom's chest in order to force her heart to start beating again, "Shampoo no let honored friend die!!" She then forced a lungful of air, then another into Bloom's lungs in order to get Bloom to start breathing.

The next 56 seconds seemed to pass very slowly as Shampoo tried to save Bloom. Suddenly, when it seemed hopeless, Bloom started coughing up water. Shampoo rolled Bloom onto her stomach so Bloom could get all the water out of her lungs.

"Honored friend okay?" asked Shampoo once Bloom stopped coughing.

"I am now," said Bloom weakly, "I guess this makes us even."

"BLOOM!!" shouted Sky. He rushed forwarded and embraced her, "Bloom, I thought I'd lost you for good."

"You'll never lose me," said Bloom, "I knew you'd find me, I never gave up hope, not even for a second."

"Oh just kiss already!" exclaimed Steve, "We all know you want to."

"For once, Steve, you're actually making sense," said Virgil, while Bloom and Sky kissed. The tender minute didn't last long.

"Max!!" exclaimed Flora, "Your arm!!" Indeed Max's left arm from his fingers to his elbow was covered in cuts and had small bits of glass stuck in it. Yet there was very little bleeding.

"Oh, that," said Max as he looked at his arm, "I didn't noticed, I was so hyped up on saving Bloom."

"Time to go to work," said Aaron. He began removing the glass pieces from Max's arm and cleaned the cuts. Before he was done cleaning the cuts, they were already beginning to heal.

"Amazing!" said Timmy, "I did not know he could heal this quickly. It must be his Meta-Human genes."

"Gee," said Morgan, "It must be obvious day at Camp Stupid!"

Elise, meanwhile, was looking at Max with a mixture of awe and fear. "This may sound a little weird, Max Kildare," she said, "But you wouldn't happen to have a falcon shaped birthmark anywhere on your body, would you?"

"A birthmark?" asked Max, "None that I know of."

"Oh he hasn't any birthmarks," said Aaron as he cleaned the last cut, right before it healed on it's own, "I should know, I've examined him enough times to be sure. Nobody on the team has any such birthmarks."

"Why do you want to know?" asked Tecna.

"It's not important," said Elise. She then whispered to Tecna, "I'll explain later."

Just then Sally-Ann's voice came over the com-link, "I've reached the control room. There are holographic displays of the whole complex, but no sign of Diaspro."

"Spread out," said Max, "Search the whole place. We can't allow that psychopath to escape."

Flora, Helia, Layla, Timmy, Tecna, Ryoga, with Shawn, Tyler, Aaron and Virgil, escorted Bloom and Sky back to the surface, while Max, Andrew, Stella, Brandon and the others continued search for Diaspro.

The end of chapter 10. Next chapter somebody catches up with Diaspro. Who will it be? Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!


	11. Chapter 11: More Than One Way

Last time our heroes, after negating the nullification field that was disrupting the girls' powers, located Bloom and Sky. Diaspro had set it up so Sky was forced to watch Bloom drown. Max punched through the glass container, freeing Bloom. Shampoo then administered CPR, saving Bloom and repaying the young Amazon's life debt. Our heroes then split up to locate (and maybe kill) Diaspro.

**Note: I've had so many ideas on who gets to kill Diaspro that I couldn't settle on just one, so I've decided to write all of them down. I hope you'll be happy with my creativity.**

On with the show!

Chapter 11: More Than One Way

Back on the surface Aaron was attending to Sky's minor, but multiple wounds. The whole ordeal that Diaspro put him through left him cut, bruised and burned over most of his body.

"You're lucky to have such minor injuries," said Aaron as he cleaned and bandaged a cut on Sky's forearm, "I've seen a lot worse."

"I'm still having a hard time believing that Diaspro could have done all of this," said Flora, "Even after all that happened."

"I thought I knew her," said Sky, "who would have thought she'd do something so despicable."

"Elise found out that Diaspro was on anti-psychotics," said Tecna, "She must have been off her medication for a long time for her mind to become so unstable."

"Speaking of Elise," said Shawn, "Why did she ask if Max had a birthmark?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," said Bloom while Flora provided her with a change of dry clothing.

"You sure you're okay, sweetie?" asked Flora.

"Couldn't be better," said Bloom, "But I'd like to stay away from dangerous situations for a while. No, I'm more worried about Diaspro. There's a lot of angry people looking for her right now, I wouldn't trade anything to be in her cheap, tacky shoes."

Diaspro meanwhile was running for her life. She knew her plan to destroy Bloom and Sky had failed, and that their friends were looking for her. If they found her, she would surely be killed. Yet in her unstable mind she wasn't completely defeated.

"This is just a minor setback," she said out loud as she hurried down a corridor to an emergency escape ship, "I will have my revenge!"

She had just reached the door to the chamber that housed her escape ship, when there was a loud shout from behind her. "STOP!!"

**Here are the multiple choices of who deals with Diaspro. First up, Stella.**

"I said Stop, Diaspro!!" shouted Stella, her staff pointing at the lunatic.

"Why, Stella," said Diaspro, "You're not very pretty when you're angry, did you know that?"

"Shut up!!" snapped Stella, "I'm very upset right now. First you try to ruin the love life of my best friend. Then you kidnap her and Sky. Then you try to kill Bloom. You've gone too far, so now I'm gonna kill you!!"

"You don't have what it takes to kill me," said Diaspro calmly, "You don't have the guts."

"Wanna bet!?!" exclaimed Stella as she raised her staff, "SOLARIAN SUNBURST!!!" A huge beam of sunlight radiated from Stella's staff and shot at Diaspro's head. The beam caught Diaspro head on at a range of less than ten feet. She screamed in agony as her eyes burned away.

Just then Jill, Brandon and Michael came running down the corridor. They saw Stella standing over the still form of Diaspro. Stella's spell had not only burned away Diaspro's eyes, but had also cooked her brains from the inside, while leaving her with a horrible case of sunburn, adding insult to injury.

"You okay, honey?" asked Brandon.

"I think so, snookums," said Stella in a shaky tone, "Did I really just kill someone?"

"You destroyed a monster in human form," said Jill, "It's natural for you to feel remorse for your actions, but it'll pass."

"Only one question," said Michael as he stood over the sunburned body of Diaspro, "Original Recipe, or Extra Crispy?"

"Dude!" exclaimed Brandon, "That's terrible."

"Well I had to say something," said Michael."

**That's probably how it could have happened, but consider this scenario. Next; Andrew**.

"Stop or I'll shoot!!" shouted Andrew, his huge pistol aimed for Diaspro's heart.

"You wouldn't shoot an unarmed, innocent girl," said Diaspro in a seductive tone, "Would you?"

"Can the sweet talk, bitch!" snapped Andrew, "I'm married. Now stop!"

"Make me," said Diaspro in an uncaring tone, "I'll bet you don't have the guts to shoot me."

"You're right," said Andrew as he holstered his pistol, "I won't shoot you."

"I knew it," grinned Diaspro.

"Guns really aren't my thing," said Andrew as he drew from his pocket something small and square, "I prefer things that go 'boom!' over stuff 'bang!' Think fast!!"

"Think what?" said Diaspro as Andrew threw the object at Diaspro. It landed on the back of her hand and stuck there. She tried to pull it off but it clung to her skin like glue. She then noticed that there was a small digital clock on the object that was counting down. The counter had less than five seconds left. Andrew had thrown a sticky bomb.

"NO!!" shouted Diaspro just before the bomb exploded, reducing the lunatic to small, wet chunks of meat and blood.

Just then Jill, Ryoga and Michael ran down the corridor and met up with Andrew. "Are you alright?" asked Jill, not concerned that her husband was covered in exploded bits of madwoman.

"What happened to Diaspro?" asked Ryoga.

"It appears she went out with a bang," said Michael.

"That's not funny," said Andrew, "Besides, she went out with a boom."

**Next up; Brandon**

"Stop right there, Diaspro!!" shouted Brandon, his sword raised for the kill.

"What are you going to do, hero boy," said Diaspro, "Give me a paper cut?"

"You really are nuts!" he said, "First you mess with Sky's head, then you kidnap him and Bloom. You force him into horrible situations, then you try to kill the love of his life. You're worse than yesterdays' garbage."

"And just what are you going to do about it?" asked Diaspro.

"This," answered Brandon. Before Diaspro could blink, Brandon rushed forward and stabbed her in the heart. A look of disbelief dawned on her face as Brandon pulled the energy blade from her chest. She fell to the ground, dead.

Just then Max, Stella and Michael ran down the corridor towards Brandon.

"You okay, snookums?" asked Stella.

"I'll be fine," said Brandon as he looked at the still form of Diaspro, "I just wish it didn't have to come to this."

"Would you rather that she got away?" asked Max.

"No," answered Brandon.

"Then you did the right thing," said Max.

"I think it's safe to say," said Michael, "That Diaspro got _the point!_"

"That's just awful!" exclaimed Stella.

"Well I had to say something," said Michael.

**And now; Elise.**

"Hold it right there, psycho bitch!!" shouted Elise.

"Why are you doing this?" asked Diaspro, "I mean, you're a witch. Why help a fairy?"

"Bloom happens to be my friend," said Elise, "She helped me in my hour of need, now I'm repaying the favor by killing you."

"And just how do you expect to kill me?" asked Diaspro.

"By taking advantage of the fact that you're standing in a puddle of water!" said Elise, _"ZAKERGA!!"_

She sent a highly concentrated burst of yellow lighting at Diaspro, electrocuting her. She fell to the ground, dead.

Just then Morgan, Andrew and Michael came running down the corridor. "What happened?" asked Andrew.

"It's finished," said Elise, "The lunatic is dead."

"Shocking," said Michael as she stared at the blackened remains of Diaspro.

"I was going to say that!!" exclaimed Morgan.

**Now it's Musa's turn.**

"Don't move or you're dead, Diaspro!!" shouted Musa.

"What are you going to do?" asked Diaspro, "Bore me to death with your pathetic noise?"

"Oh you did not just dis my music!" said Musa, "You've so got to die!!" With that Musa sent a concentrated sonic burst at Diaspro. The sudden influx of loud music caused Diaspro's eardrums to explode, destroying a good chunk of her brain as well. She fell to the ground, dead.

Just then Riven, Julie and Michael came running up to Musa. "Are you alright?" asked Riven.

"I think so," said Musa in a shaky tone, "I really just killed someone."

"She had it coming," said Julie, "Diaspro deserved everything she got, that and more."

"Well one thing's for certain," said Michael, "Whatever hell Diaspro is in right now, it's surely a quiet one."

**And now, here's Julie!**

"Hold it right there, bitch!!" shouted Julie as she aimed her rifle at Diaspro's head.

"What are you going to do?" asked Diaspro, "Shoot me? You don't have the guts."

"You left me with no choice," said Julie, "You used my image in your twisted scheme. For that there is only one course of action I can take. So give my best regards to the devil, you'll be seeing him in a second." With that Julie pulled the trigger and shot Diaspro in the heart. The madwoman fell to the floor, dead.

Just then Fay, Stella and Michael came running down the corridor.

"F#ck," said a disappointed Fay, "I wanted to kill her."

"You can kill the next lunitic we face," said Julie.

"Sounds good," said Fay, "But right now I only want your face, okay?"

"Thought you'd never ask," said Julie. With that she and Fay kissed.

"Oh get a room you two," said Michael.

"My thoughts exactly," said Stella.

**There are so many more ways for Diaspro to die, but I've run out of puns for Michael to say, so let's cut to what really happened.**

Diaspro whirled around to see who had yelled at her. All she saw before blacking out was the wooden stock of a shotgun. "Idiot," said Sally-Ann as she tied a rope around Diaspro's arms and legs. She then began dragging the unconscious lunatic back up to the surface.

"Max," she said into her com-link, "You can call off the search, I've got her hogtied."

The end of chapter 11. Next chapter it all comes together. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!


	12. Chapter 12: Things Said and Unsaid

Last time we witnessed multiple methods of the death of Diaspro, but in the end, Sally-Ann captured the madwoman. On with the show!

Chapter 12: Things Said and Unsaid

Within a few minutes of Sally-Ann's news, all of our heroes had gathered back at _The Night Rider_, waiting for the bounty hunter to deliver her catch.

"I've alerted the Galaxy Police," said Brandon, "They should be here soon to take everyone's statement."

"That's a good idea," said Helia, "We're lucky to have done as much as we did without getting into trouble."

Just then Sally-Ann emerged from the house, dragging the bound and unconscious Diaspro.

"One spoiled brat," said Sally-Ann, "bagged and tagged." She deposited the out cold Diaspro in front of Bloom and Sky for their approval.

"What now?" asked Flora.

"I'll tell you what now," said Julie as she cocked her riffle, "I'm gonna send this pathetic excuse for a human being straight to Hell!!" She aimed her riffle at Diaspro's head and readied to pull the trigger.

"No!" said Bloom.

"I'm sorry," said Carmen, "But did I just hear you say 'no?'"

"You heard me right," said Bloom, "I don't want Julie, or anyone to kill Diaspro."

"Are you out of your f#ck$ng mind!?!!" exclaimed Julie, "Diaspro brainwashed you and Sky, kidnapped the two of you, forced him through an horrific ordeal, with you watching, then tried to drown you!"

"I know," said Bloom, "But that's still no reason to kill her."

"I agree with Bloom," said Sky, "Diaspro doesn't deserve to die."

"Have the two of you gone completely sideways!?!!" said Morgan, "This is Diaspro we're talking about here."

"Have you forgotten already?" asked Julie, "She used my face to hurt you! She deserves a thousand and one deaths!!"

"I know what she did," said Sky, "But that's still no reason to kill her. Diaspro is a highly disturbed woman who needs help."

"Disturbed is the least that she is," said Stella, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Maybe the whole experience has messed with their heads," said Musa.

"They're fine," said Aaron, "I've examined them."

"That still doesn't solve our problem," said Violet, "What to do with Diaspro?"

"I happen to agree with Bloom and Sky," said Flora, "Diaspro needs help." Helia, Layla, Tatewaki, Tecna and Timmy nodded in agreement.

"You may want to be merciful," said Carmen to Bloom, "But I say that we should just kill the psycho bitch and get it over with." Morgan, Elise, Stella, Brandon, Tenchi, Kodatchi and Shampoo nodded in agreement.

"This could get out of hand," said Andrew, "Somebody decide something quick."

"What say you, Max," said Virgil, "Should we kill Diaspro, or make sure she gets the help she needs?"

"That's the problem," said Max, "Half of me wants to destroy her completely, the other half wants to see her locked up in a padded room."

"Well somebody should decide for all of you," said Michael, "The crazy one is waking up." Indeed Diaspro was starting to move again.

"How about we let Sally-Ann decide," said Jill, "She did catch Diaspro. Is that satisfactory for everyone?" After a few seconds everyone nodded.

"Then I say we turn her over to the proper authorities," said Sally-Ann, "Besides, enough blood has been spilled today."

"You should have killed me when you had the chance," said a groggy Diaspro, "Because I'll never quench my desire for revenge. You Earth people have just added your names to my vengeance list, you freaks, you Mutants!!"

"That does it!!" exclaimed Steve as he activated his power pole, "I'll have her dead in ten seconds!!"

"No!!" shouted Sally-Ann, "This is my call!" She then faced Diaspro and looked her square in the eye. "You think your head hurts now, Diaspro? Keep using that language with my friends and I'll break your jaw, so just shut up and listen."

With that Diaspro had Sally-Ann's full attention. "Good," said Sally-Ann, "Now here's the situation. Under normal circumstances, you would be as dead as BBQ Chicken. But you happened to pull this sh$t while I'm in the middle of a transitional period, so I'm not going to kill you, I want to help you. Tell me, are you a religious person?"

"Not much," answered Diaspro, "What's that got to do with anything?"

"I'm not that religious myself," said Sally-Ann, "But there's this one passage in The Bible that I've always enjoyed saying, Ezekiel 25:17. '_The Path of the righteous is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men,'_ or in this case, women.

"_'Blessed are they, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherd the weak through the valley of darkness, for they truly are their brothers and sisters keepers, and the finders of lost children._

_"'And I shall strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger, those who attempt to destroy my brothers and sisters, and you shall know my name is The Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon thee.'_

"Now if this whole mess had happened a week ago, I would have just shot you in the face, but that's not going to happen. You see, I've been saying those words for a long time, but I've never thought about what they really mean and how they apply to my life.

"I would like to believe, in this situation, that I represent the righteous, Bloom and Sky are the weak, you're the evil, and Mr. 12-gage here," she indicated her shotgun, "He's the shepherd protecting my righteous ass through the valley of darkness.

"Or maybe, I'm the shepherd, Bloom and Sky are the lost children, and it's the whole f#ck$ng universe that's evil and selfish, and you're just a product of it. But that's not the truth. Do you want to know what the truth is, Diaspro?"

The madwoman hesitated for a second before answering, "Yes."

"The truth is," said Sally-Ann, "that Bloom and Sky are both the righteous and the lost children. And for the two of us; you, Diaspro, are the weak, and I am a product of the tyranny of evil men and women. But I'm trying, Diaspro, I'm trying real hard to be the shepherd." With that she flicked the safety on for her shotgun, "That's all I have to say."

Fifteen minutes our heroes handed Diaspro over to The Galaxy Police. They would later hear that she was placed under intense psychiatric care.

"Well that was a waste of everyone's time," said Riven.

"You can say that again," agreed Layla.

"Say, Sky," said Brandon, "Weren't you going to ask Bloom something? I think that's the whole reason why this happened."

"You're right," said Sky, "Bloom, there's something I wanted to ask you, something that I've been waiting to say for a long time. It's the reason why I asked you to the park yesterday."

"I already know," said Bloom, who was grinning and crying with joy.

"You know?" asked a surprised Sky.

"Well, I guessed," said Bloom, "And the answer is yes."

With that, Sky got down on one knee, reached into his pocket, pulled out a gold ring with a diamond on it and placed it on Bloom's finger.

"Did he just do what I think just he just did?" asked Flora.

"Uh-huh," said Stella, who had stars in her eyes, "Those two are now officially engaged, and it's about time if you ask me."

After a huge round of congratulations from everyone, The Ramblers were saying their goodbyes to Bloom and her friends "You're all invited to the wedding," said Bloom, "So don't think this is goodbye forever."

"Are you kidding?" said Fay, "With all the crazy stuff that happens in our world, it's only a matter of time before we meet again."

"Count on it!" said Steve boldly.

With that Stella made a portal back to the Rambler's Earth. Max and his group finished their farewells and went home to their world.

A short time later back at Bureau headquarters Sally-Ann was saying goodbyes of her own. "So you really going to do it," said Michael, "you're really quitting."

"I said I would," said Sally-Ann, "I'm done being a bounty hunter." Then, as if on a whim, she tossed her shotgun to Violet.

"You're giving me your favorite shotgun?" asked Violet.

"I don't need it anymore," said Sally-Ann, "So take good care of it, you might just find it useful." With that she walked towards the elevator back to the surface.

"But where will you go?" asked Andrew, "You weren't serious about wandering around the world, I mean, you must have some overall destination in min, do you?"

"I'll go wherever my heart takes me," said Sally-Ann, "Smell you later, cousin."

"There she goes," said Julie as Sally-Ann entered the elevator and pressed up button, "One of creations' original prototypes. Some kind of high-powered freakazoid never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, yet too rare to die."

"Aren't we all?" asked Fay.

"We'll see her again," said Max, "Our paths will cross in time."

"You sound much better," said Jill, "Has your belief in what we're doing been restored?"

"As a matter of fact," said Max, "Yes, this whole mess has refortified my conviction in our mission; protecting the good, and battling the evil."

The end of chapter 12. There's one or two more lose ends to tie up in the next chapter. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!


	13. Epilogue: Things Yet to Come

Last time our heroes argued over what to do with the captured Diaspro. Bloom wanted to let the lunatic live, while Stella wanted to kill Diaspro. Sally-Ann decided that Diaspro should be handed over to the authorities and to get the help she needs. Later on Sky asked Bloom to marry him. Back on the Ramblers' Earth, Sally-Ann gave up her shotgun and began her wanderings of the world. On with the show!

Epilogue: Things Yet to Come

One week later…

"I just got a e-mail from Sally-Ann," said Andrew, "She's in Rome."

"Wasn't she in Paris yesterday?" asked Jill, "That woman gets around fast."

"Well I hope that wherever she goes," said Andrew, "She finds what she's looking for."

"I'm not worried about Sally-Ann," said Max, "She can take care of herself. I'm more worried about Diaspro."

"Why?" asked Jill, "We stopped her from destroying Bloom and Sky. She's locked up, so why worry?"

"There's a few things about that whole mess with her that doesn't add up," said Max.

"I agree," said Violet, "I've been going over a copy of the data Elise had on Diaspro. Despite her intense interest in genetics, she was never that bright. I sincerely doubt Diaspro was able to conceive of such an elaborate plan on her own. No doubt about it, she had help."

Meanwhile…

"There's no way that Diaspro could have thought of such a complex scheme by herself," said Brandon, "She had to have help."

"I agree," said Flora, "But who helped her?"

"It had to have been Darcy," said Musa, "It just had to."

"I don't think so," said Carmen, "If it was Darcy, she'd have tried to destroy all of us in one shot, not just Bloom and Sky."

"Well if it wasn't her," said Riven, "Then who?"

"You don't think," said Layla hesitantly, "That maybe, that Darkar is back?"

"Impossible," Tecna, "He's dead, we all saw him destroyed."

"Well whoever is responsible," said Brandon, "I've got a feeling that we'll meet this person soon enough."

"Who cares about that?" said Stella, "We've got a wedding to plan."

"Stella," said Flora in a slightly annoyed tone, "Bloom and Sky haven't even decided on a wedding date yet."

"So?" asked Stella as she stirred sugar into her coffee, "It's never to early to start planning. We've got to pick decorations; what to serve for the reception; what to where; and I've got to make an appointment to get my hair done." She sipped her coffee and spat it out in disgust. "MORGAN!!" she shouted.

"Oh man!" laughed Morgan, "That never gets old!"

Meanwhile…

Out in a remote part of the galaxy a pair of evil women conversed. One of them was draped in a black cloak with the hood up. The second woman was all too familiar with her bleached-blond hair.

"You disappoint me, Diaspro," said the cloaked woman, "I thought you could handle such a simple task as destroying Bloom. I guess I was wrong."

"It's not my fault!!" whined Diaspro, "Everything was going according to plan, that is, until those Mutants showed up and ruined everything!"

"Just consider yourself lucky that I switched you with a Tleiaxian Face Dancer before that bounty hunter captured you," said the cloaked woman, "It should be several months before the authorities realize that they have a shape shifter in custody."

"They may never figure out the truth," said Diaspro, "Face Dancers can mimic the behavior and appearance of anyone perfectly. I should know, I paid for it out of my own purse."

"Your selflessness won't get you very far," said the cloaked woman, "There's still the fact that Bloom still lives. Not only that, you couldn't even destroy her love for that wretched prince Sky. Now it is stronger than ever."

"Don't remind me," said Diaspro darkly, "Next time not only will I make Bloom hate Sky, I'll make her kill him, before forcing her to kill herself."

'There won't be a next time," said the cloaked woman, "I don't take kindly to failure. I should do away with your pathetic existence on general principal. Still, I may have use for you in the future."

"I guess I should be grateful," said Diaspro.

"You should!" snapped the cloaked woman, "Just remember, you belong to me, now and forever."

"I understand," said Diaspro grudgingly, "Not like I've anywhere else to go to, my reputation has been forever tarnished. So what is it you want me to do now?"

"Nothing for the time being," said the cloaked woman, "I will call for you when I need your special talents. Until then, I suggest you simply disappear."

"As you command, mistress," said Diaspro. With that she left.

"Enjoy what little time you have left, Bloom Mandragoran," said the cloaked woman out loud, "For soon you shall suffer the same fate as your birth parents. Soon you shall be nothing more than a memory."

Meanwhile…

"You were going to tell me why you were so interested in Max," said Tecna, "And whether or not he had a birthmark."

"I will," said Elise, "But are you sure he can be trusted?" she indicated Timmy.

"Tecna trusts me with her life," said Timmy, "And I with hers."

"Very well," said Elise, "But what I am about to tell you, remains between the three of us, until the time is right. I'm serious, what I have to say I've never even told Carmen and Morgan. This remains top secret."

"Of course," said Timmy and Tecna.

"Alright then," said Elise, "On my homeworld, there's a prophecy that concerns a human from Earth. It does not say if this person is a man or a woman, only that he or she will be born on Earth. The prophecy calls this person a _Kwisatz Haderach_; a human with god-like powers and abilities."

"I've heard of the term," said Tecna, "But I thought it only to be a myth."

"What made you think that Max was this _Kwisatz Haderach_?" asked Timmy, "Besides his obvious skills."

"The prophecy tells of several factors that would identify the _Kwisatz Haderach_," said Elise, "One of them said, and I quote: **'The One will be cut, but will not bleed.'** When I saw how little Max was hurt when he punched through that glass, well, you can imagine my thoughts.

"But I was relieved and disappointed that Max wasn't the _Kwisatz Haderach_, for the prophecy clearly states that _the Kwisatz Haderach_ will have a birthmark shaped like a falcon."

"And none of The Ramblers have such a mark," said Tecna.

"You're beginning to understand," said Elise, "When I first heard about Bloom, I thought, _'A fairy from Earth? Could she be The One?'_ When Darcy and her sisters summoned the Army of Decay, I truly believed that Bloom was The One, but was disappointed and relieved when her true origin was revealed.

"When we faced The Shadow Riders, when we met with Ranma, Tenchi and the other martial artists from Earth, I considered each of them possibly fitting the description of the _Kwisatz Haderach_. Again I was disappointed and relieved when none of them had the specific birthmark stated in the prophecy."

"Why were you also relieved?" asked Timmy.

"I'm getting to that," said Elise, "The prophecy was made almost 15,000 years ago. I'm among the few from my world who still remembers the prophecy, and among the fewer who still take it seriously. You see, the coming of the _Kwisatz Haderach_ signals the approach of _Kralizec_: The End of Days."

"You mean the last war at the end of the universe?!" asked Tecna, "That _Kralizec_!?!"

"Do you know any other?" asked Elise.

There was silence for a few minutes as Tecna and Timmy took in the full weight of Elise's words.

Finally Timmy said, "What do we do? What can we do?"

"Just be vigilant," said Elise, "Keep our eyes open for people from Earth with extraordinary abilities, and hope he or she makes the right choice."

"What do you mean 'the right choice'?" asked Tecna.

"The prophecy says that the _Kwisatz Haderach_ will neither be good or evil at first, that he or she will be forced to choose which side to fight for during _Kralizec_; for when the last war is over, the _Kwisatz Haderach_ will have either saved the universe or destroyed it, forever.

"My people have been waiting almost 15,000 years for the _Kwisatz Haderach_, waiting for their savior. Personally I also hope he or she chooses to save the universe."

"But what if the _Kwisatz Haderach_ chooses to destroy the universe," said Tecna, "What then?"

"That's a very good question, Tecna," said Elise, "'What then?'"

The End

Finished at last!! I've had this story in my head for like months! I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've liked writing it. But I'm sure you've got questions in your head:

Who is this mysterious cloaked woman who now owns Diaspro? What horrible scheme will the bleached-haired psycho inflict on Bloom and Sky? Will they get married without anything evil getting in the way? And what about this _Kwisatz Haderach_ that Elise talked about? Who is he or she and will he or she save the universe or destroy it?

At least one of these questions will be answered in my next Winx Club story.

But what about The Ramblers? What crazy, mixed-up adventure will they get into next time? I'll have to think about that.

Until then!!!!


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